5 Ways Network Security Will Evolve in 2018

Will 2018 be another big year for enterprise IT security? You'd better believe it. From a business standpoint, network security is expected to remain a top priority.

According to the Interop ITX and InformationWeek 2018 State of Infrastructure study, network security is by far the biggest driver for network investments this year. Fifty-nine percent of the 150 IT leaders and practitioners polled cited network security as one of their top three networking priorities. The focus is understandable in the wake of so many high-profile breaches, including the massive Equifax hack. While regulatory compliance plays a big role in driving corporate emphasis on security, organizations rely on a secure, reliable network for their digital initiatives.

As security continues to rise to the top of corporate agendas, the network security engineer plays a critical role. The value enterprises place on IT pros with security skills is clear: According to the Robert Half 2018 Technology and IT salary guide, network security engineers and network security administrators are among the top five best- paying networking jobs.

The role of the network security administrator likely will change based on the types of threats on the horizon, as well as advances in the technologies and processes companies use to combat those threats. In this slideshow, I discuss five ways network security will evolve in the coming year and reshape the role of the network security administrator.

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