In 2015, consumers will expect free, unlimited storage; IT will balance user productivity with data privacy needs, and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies will help drive hybrid cloud adoption. This is all according to Matthew Dornquast, CEO and co-founder of Code42 Software, Inc., a provider of endpoint data protection and management software.

Dornquast’s predictions about enterprise cloud are all part of our second annual Technology Predictions series in which industry experts share their predictions with us about the hot tech trends that they think will take center stage in 2015. We’ll be sharing all of their predictions with you over the next couple of days. Read on for more from Dornquast.

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Prediction No. 1: Consumers will expect free, unlimited storage

In 2015, expect to see file sync and sharing platforms such as Google Drive, SharePoint and Dropbox to offer unlimited storage to consumers at no cost. As an increasing number of consumers take advantage of free storage platforms, IT leaders must and will be prepared for the risk associated with unsanctioned use of these apps in the enterprise.

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Prediction No. 2: IT will balance user productivity with data privacy needs

While enterprises will want to support cloud-based apps, CIOs will need to balance that desire with their need to lock down data. IT must and will strike a balance between data privacy and support for popular user-productivity apps, which will drive a breakout year for the hybrid cloud.

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Prediction No. 3: BYOD policies will drive hybrid cloud adoption

In 2015, IT leaders will face the increased challenge of managing risks associated with unsanctioned consumer apps creeping into the workplace, supporting the myriad devices that come with BYOD and evolving support services to keep pace with mobile enterprise users. As IT gets a handle on managing personal and professional data across devices, they will be drawn to the hybrid cloud as it offers the capacity and elasticity of the public cloud combined with the data security and privacy of private clouds. In fact, according to Gartner, Inc., nearly half of large enterprises will have hybrid cloud deployments by the end of 2017.

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Prediction No. 4: Privacy concerns will take center stage

Privacy concerns regarding public cloud data will only intensify in 2015 as more high-profile breaches are made public, which will ultimately drive increased private and hybrid cloud adoption. As enterprises more heavily rely on the cloud to store and share sensitive data, not a month will go by without news of several major data breaches.

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Prediction No. 5: Governance and regulation will minimize data loss risks

Looking to minimize privacy breaches and data loss liability, corporations will look to greater public policy disclosures and an increased movement to secure data. In order to achieve this, organizations across all industries will spell out policies to protect the privacy of company data and delineate which data must remain on-premises.

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2015 Technology Predictions graphic courtesy of SiliconANGLE