What to Expect in Networking and Security in 2022

Each year, the technology industry evolves in response to new challenges and opportunities. As we look ahead, several key trends in networking, security, and cloud adoption are likely to shape the ways companies operate and build for the future.

5G Moves From Hype to Reality

While carriers have heavily promoted 5G networks, the underlying technology promises significantly more wireless bandwidth and lower latency. This translates into better performance for websites, business applications, video streaming, online games, and emerging use cases like AR and VR.

With flexible work arrangements becoming permanent for many, the demand for 5G mobile and fixed wireless broadband is poised to grow. Device manufacturers will be shipping a wide range of products with embedded 5G in the coming year, and remote workers will eagerly seek out solutions that improve their Internet performance and reliability.

Businesses will make major investments in 5G to enhance experiences for both employees and customers. Developers will rethink application architectures to take advantage of additional wireless "last mile" bandwidth and lower latency, while network architects look for ways to boost end-to-end performance. In 2022, expect intense competition among network operators and cloud providers as they work to balance 5G adoption with cost and effort.

The Talent War Is a Technology Problem

The so-called "great resignation" has been described as a shortage of experienced tech workers, but it may be more accurate to characterize it as a "great reshuffle." The pandemic prompted widespread changes in how people search, apply, interview, onboard, and work — all now done remotely.

Jobseekers are evaluating employers on completely different criteria compared to pre-2020. How reliable is the video conferencing? How streamlined is access to everyday software and tools? Is it easy to work securely from any location, or do security controls and the VPN get in the way?

To compete for the best talent, employers must make flexible work both effortless and secure. Even small amounts of digital friction frustrate workers and hurt productivity. CIOs need to lead the way in optimizing a fully zero-friction, flexible work experience. Expect technology and tools to play an increasingly important role in the talent war, as companies look for any edge useful to hire the people they need.

Cloud Growth Brings Simplicity Demands

Cloud adoption will certainly continue to rise, but many companies are struggling to keep pace with how quickly the cloud ecosystem evolves. The sheer number of services offered by cloud providers makes it hard for businesses to train employees and onboard new products fast enough. CEOs are often caught off guard by escalating cloud costs, and turnover threatens institutional knowledge.

IT leaders will push for easier-to-consume cloud services rather than just more fundamental building blocks. They will demand value for their spending and expect cloud partners to solve problems simply, not simply add complexity. Chief information officers will also press cloud providers for more cooperative behavior. Egress charges, in particular, are a substantial barrier that frustrates companies seeking to adopt multi-cloud architectures.

Security Challenges Push Toward Zero Trust

The security landscape shows no signs of letting up. Throughout last year, bot traffic continued to grow, DDoS attacks increased in scale, phishing attempts escalated, and high-profile ransomware incidents made headlines. The Log4j vulnerability in late 2021 served as another reminder of how quickly attacks can emerge.

These threats raise the question: how can companies protect themselves without simply blaming users who fall for phishing emails? The promising trend is zero trust — not just as a buzzword or a checkbox product, but as an overarching security philosophy.

In 2022, CISOs will evaluate every part of their security toolkit from a zero trust perspective. This includes scrutinizing network management, firewall deployment, user authentication, and application access. Any technology that does not fit the zero trust model should probably be retired. The security-as-a-service model is also likely to prevail because it aligns with the broader desire for simplicity and reducing in-house overhead.

The Demise of the Traditional Corporate Network

The long-standing corporate wide area network (WAN) is becoming obsolete as high-speed home Internet and 5G have matured. Though SD-WAN once extended the life of the corporate WAN, the shift to remote work has stripped away its purpose entirely.

For many employees, video conferencing and SaaS applications work better from home than from the office. The VPN, a staple of the remote work experience, may soon be a relic too. Shutting it down should be considered a milestone for security leaders, signifying a move away from the castle-and-moat perimeter approach toward a zero trust architecture.

The Internet, by extension, is set to become the core network for the majority of workers and companies. IT might start cutting WAN budgets to invest in more impactful, end-user-facing technology.

Privacy Becomes a Design Principle

Consumer privacy concerns in 2021 centered on social media exposure, end-to-end encryption, and mobile device tracking. Consumers want to know who they are dealing with, why they are sharing data, and how their information is handled. For businesses, this is not just etiquette — it is fundamental to operations.

Regulations have shifted the balance of power toward users. The GDPR is a leading example of privacy rules that have forced enterprises to reconsider data collection practices. Yet privacy laws differ significantly across the US, EU, China, Russia, India, and Brazil, creating a tricky patchwork of global rules for companies to follow.

Organizations will need to bake privacy into applications from the start, just as security is now integrated into every stage of software delivery. One field where this trend converges with security and remote work is the desire for employees to use a single device for both personal and professional activities. The traditional, tightly controlled managed device will gradually become less common. Instead, capabilities like browser isolation and strengthened zero trust controls are stepping in to make device independence a realistic possibility.

Looking Ahead

Challenges will not disappear in the new year. But businesses will continue to adapt, embracing new technologies while dealing with persistent security and organizational shifts. Simplification, zero trust, and flexible computing are the trends worth tracking.