Doomsayers had predicted the world would end on Dec. 21. Thatdidn't happen, so here's what organizations need to know to avoidtheir own Armageddon during the next 12 months.

Prediction 1:The Rise of Secure Search

There's a growing gulf between the people who know how to findthe right information quickly and those that don't. The risk isthat those who are not using modern techniques to manage theirinformation overload will drown in a sea of unproductivity. Withthe number of business-critical emails we receive on a daily basisgrowing, it's those who are using automatic rules and search, andcan manage their inbox beyond just normal filing, coming out ontop.

Getting to the information quicker, and responding faster withthe right information, gives you a competitive edge. Get youremployees thinking about what needs to be kept, what has to be keptlegally, what can be removed and how to intelligently archive theirinformation. It's like organizing your life – you feel better whenyou're in control.

Prediction 2:The Growing Chasm between IT and the Rest of Us

There's a growing disparity between how people use technology intheir personal and professional lives. Employees are beginning toexpect the same services and accessibility from theirorganization's infrastructure as they can get as consumers.

With a huge portion of the workforce connecting remotely viaboth personal and professional devices, the traditionalinfrastructure is being assaulted by new requirements, devices andservices. Boundaries between work and home are further blurred bysocial media as the personal face of an employee is available toprofessional contacts – and vice versa.

This will impact a number of areas. For example, who owns theintellectual property of documents created on a personaldevice? If an employee uses a personal device to check theirwork email, what rights does the organisation have to access,search or wipe the memory?

This is further complicated for multi-national organizations aspotentially there'll be differing legal ramifications, legislation,etc., for each geographical location.

Start to think how, as an organization, you can be master inyour own home, yet still offer the flexibility the workforce isincreasingly demanding. A good place to start is making sureemployee contracts cover the obligations – for both sides.

Prediction 3:Demonstrate the Damage

The vast expanse of information about everyone that's easilyavailable online is scary, and this poses a new threat toorganizations. While iOS 6 and digital ad tracking is being usedfor live ad streaming, it is capable of being used for so muchmore.

All the individual scraps of information about a person can beresearched and pieced together to create a complete picture – whowe are, where we work, what school our children attend. It's allthere waiting to be plundered. The primary thing that saves mostpeople is nobody is looking for them! But what if someone were?

It's important that, as an organization, you make sure youremployees – especially those in key positions, are made aware ofthe risks. Consider collecting the information that's easilyaccessible on one employee to demonstrate what can be done, toreally bring the message home.

Prediction 4:Inter-Organizational Collaboration

Organizations are used to collaborating internally but the needto collaborate with third parties – business partners, contractors,vendors, customers, etc.—is increasing. The issue is that, witheasy access to collaborative services such as YouSendIt, Dropboxand Google Drive, it is virtually impossible for organizations tomaintain control of exactly what is being shared. In fact, withdecisions being left to the individual, just how can theorganization make sure its digital assets are protected?

This is fast becoming the new frontier as file sharing movesbeyond active directory. Organizations need to introduce processesthat ensure the right sensitive information is shared, with theright people, securely.

Prediction 5:The Big Data Mountain

The elephant in the room has grown from being small and cute andinstead has actually started reproducing to form a large herd.Analysts concur that data is growing exponentially – with IDCquoting 50% year on year. In contrast, Moore's Law estimates thatprocessing power doubles every two years, although many believethat 2013 will see this growth start to slow.

That means, if you've got 100 terabytes today, it will become150 in a year and 225 in two years, while processing power willonly double. Even if Moore's Law did hold true, processing is stillnot keeping up with data growth (this is why big datasolutions are built to easily “scale out” by adding nodes,rather than requiring you to “scale up” with processor upgrades).

The reality is that these vast volumes of data require vast sumsof money to store, with the real burden of how to staff up tomanage and protect it. Organizations need to determine what they'regoing to keep, and what they're not, and how to execute thosedecisions going forward.

While one train of thought is for storage, management andprotection to become cheaper and faster, another is thatorganizations get better at their storage housekeeping. My beliefis that both need to happen. Organizations need to look forsolutions that will intelligently archive their information, whileautomating management and protection.

Prediction 6:Shortage of Big Data Analytics and Data ScienceSkills

My final thought is that, while technology exists which allowsorganizations to store and analyze huge amounts of data, there is aserious lack of data scientists to interpret the results and makeinformed decisions.

For example, when MRI scans were first introduced, ailments thatwere previously hidden to the surgeon could be seen, resulting in aspike in the number of patients going under the knife. However, itwas later discovered that some patients who were just prescribedbed rest recovered better than those that had surgery!

More information doesn't always lead to better decisions. But,if you have the automation and the talent to distinguish causalityfrom coincidence, you can gain an edge.

As with any prediction, I can't see into the future but I'mpretty sure the clock will strike midnight on New Year's Eve. Howmany of my other predictions will be true, only time will tell.

DavidGibson is vice president of strategy at Varonis in New YorkCity.