With technological advancements, the IT networking industry has been evolving very rapidly. From Mainframe computer days to today’s digital world, the industry has come across technological changes almost every 3-4 years. Leaps in computing capacity, security and connectivity have transformed how organizations operate and interact with the world. 2020 is going to be the year for certain technologies, where these technologies will slowly make its way from a general idea to network implementation globally. Here are three technology trends that would impact IT networking in 2020 and beyond…

The fifth generation of mobile wireless communications promises to bring opportunities to businesses across all industries with greater ability to connect many more devices at once and move more data with its faster speed. 5G is the technology that will extend wireless connectivity beyond Smartphones, and enhance machine-to-machine connections. Increased speed and network capacity will support new applications and connect more devices; including IoT applications used in industries like manufacturing, healthcare, energy, etc.

Software-Defined Wide-Area Networking (SD-WAN), has been one of the disruptive network trends since 2019 globally, its cost efficiency and WAN management were the reasons that led to the adoption of SD-WAN. According to research by Futuriom, the SD-WAN market is expected to reach almost $2.2 billion by 2020 because in 2020 the enterprises want a solution that can go beyond the basics while giving them a foundation for digital transformation and is cost-efficient too. SD-WAN not just offers security, performance, flexibility & scalability but also comes with enhanced tools for enterprises to track their WAN performance with real-time insights into their network. SD-WAN has a long way to go before it deliver the promise of fully automated, intent-based WANs, however, in 2020, SD-WAN will help IT enterprises identify the cause of application-performance slowdowns or outages and help them reap greater long-term benefits while they grow their businesses and deliver more value than simply cost-cutting.

2020 is a big year for Power over Ethernet (PoE). As we know that it play a key role in IT networking as it saves up to 50% of the overall installation costs by eliminating the need to install separate electrical wiring and power outlets. Emergence of IoT, Big Data, Smart and Connected homes, cities has led to adoption of PoE powered devices With the rise in usage of Internet of Things (IoT) applications it is predicted that more than 700 million PoE-enabled Ethernet switch ports and 280 million PoE devices are expected to ship in the next 5 years, according to market research firm Dell’Oro Group.

As the saying goes, “The only thing constant in life is change”. As technology evolves it brings new opportunities, and we need to become accustomed to the changes in order to improve. 2020 is going to be a transformative year for the enterprise IT networking industry with these trends springing up. These trends are still in an emerging state, which means it’s a great time for enterprises to understand potential applications and how to put into action it for their businesses.