2. Cloud Storage Will Accelerate Quickly

Businesses in 2017 will increasingly see the merits of cloud storage. But it won't be because the cloud is a good place to run applications, or less expensive than on-premises storage. It's neither.

The cloud will be the go-to technology for data protection and disaster recovery, and for capacity surges to meet temporary demands for applications requiring temporary space. With the rise of DevOps, containers and similar technologies, the cloud is also the place for developing and testing applications before moving them to production.

It also helps that the major cloud vendors, especially Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Google, are making it easier for third-party companies and channel partners to build gateways to help customers take advantage of the cloud for managing data.