As 2013 winds down, it’s only natural for people to make personal New Year’s resolutions for 2014. It’s also a perfect time for technology industry predictions. 

This is the seventh installation in our multi-part “Technology Predictions for 2014” series in which industry providers—from Big Data to cloud to mobile—share their predictions about the hot tech trends that will take center stage in 2014. We’ll keep sharing all the predictions we’ve heard with you over the next several days.

So far in this series

.

Up to this point, we’ve heard Big Data predictions in the first installation from Saggi Neumann, co-founder and CTO of Xplenty, a cloud-based, code-free, “Hadoop as a Service” platform. In the second installation, we heard Big Data predictions from Quentin Gallivan, CEO of Pentaho, a provider of open-source reporting, analysis, dashboard, data mining and workflow capabilities.

In the third installation, we heard Big Data predictions from Steven Hillion, Chief Product Officer of Alpine Data Labs, a code-free, in-cluster web analytics platform that analyzes Big Data and Hadoop. In the fourth installation, we heard Big Data predictions from John Schroeder, co-founder and CEO of MapR Technologies, a software provider of Hadoop technology for Big Data deployments.

In the fifth installation, we heard Big Data predictions from Ron Bodkin, founder and CEO of Think Big Analytics. The sixth installation brought Big Data predictions from SGI President and CEO Jorge Titinger.

Mobile in 2014

.

We’ve heard great predictions for the world of Big Data in 2014. Next up is mobile. Mobile is a topic that we at siliconANGLE have been right on top of in 2013. From our written coverage to theCUBE’s live coverage at industry events, we have been sharing with you the latest developments in mobile. So, what’s in store for mobile in 2014?

Our first round of mobile predictions for 2014 comes from enterprise application software provider SAP. Here, Bill Clark, Global Vice President, Mobile Services at SAP, offers four predictions for mobile in 2014.

Prediction No. 1: Mobile is no longer an option, it’s everything. And will continue to be so. As we close out 2013, more technology vendors are recognizing that the strength of this app-based economy lies in the enterprise. Once considered the sweet spot for Angry Birds, mobile developers have shifted focus to creating enterprise-grade mobile applications covering every possible mobile platform.

In 2014, we’ll see that development continue to increase as developers take advantage of newly introduced, streamlined tools that help create and deploy the same mobile application across multiple different platforms.

Prediction No. 2: Mobile fragmentation will continue. Apple is on course to set more records with the introduction of the 5s, while Samsung continues to pull away as the overall smartphone leader. And even Windows phones are catching on, with the Lumia being treated to an aggressive advertising push. With increasing variety and features being offered, companies are no longer able to force a device on employees and expect them to be happy.

In 2014, we’ll see an increasing fragmentation in the mobile market, and a scramble from companies looking for ways to manage devices of all types and operating systems.

Prediction No. 3: BYOD will become the new normal and “BYOx” will take off. For years, we’ve talked about employees bringing their own devices and phones, but now it’s about so much more. Employees are bringing smartphones, tablets and apps, and there’s not much that IT can say about it.

In 2014, companies will look beyond devices, toward a more comprehensive strategy for managing the security of company data and content while appeasing employee demand for flexibility. Because, while the device matters, it’s about what’s inside that device—and in the cloud—that truly counts.

Prediction No. 4: Companies will bridge the CIO/CMO divide. If you believe the headlines toward the back half of 2013, you’d think the IT department was obsolete. Seeking greater agility and faster response times, the CMO has taken control of a bigger piece of the IT budget. Companies are playing to that trend, offering solutions that “bypass IT” but still provide security.

In 2014, the struggle between the CIO and CMO will still be alive and well, but we’ll see these C-level executives begin to work more closely as IT recognizes it needs to open itself up to mobile solutions. The CMO will realize that strict security practices simply can’t be enforced without the help of the IT department.

Click here for the first installation of our “Technology Predictions for 2014” series, in which we heard Big Data predictions from Xplenty.

Click here for the second installation, in which we heard Big Data predictions from Pentaho.

Click here for the third installation, in which we heard Big Data predictions from Alpine Data Labs.

Click here for the fourth installation, which we heard Big Data predictions from MapR Technologies.

Click here for the fifth installation, in which we heard Big Data predictions from Think Big Analytics.

Click here for the sixth installation, in which we heard Big Data predictions from SGI.

Click here for the eighth installation, in which we heard Mobile predictions from RadiumOne.

Click here for the ninth installation, in which we heard Cloud predictions from NetApp.

Click here for the tenth and final installation, in which we heard Cloud predictions from F5.