One of the most prestigious voices in the IT industry recently made an interesting proclamation: “The next big thing is dead.” So starts CompTIA’s IT Outlook 2019 , which finds the next big thing is no longer about some new jaw-dropping technology advancement but rather a combination of various technologies, people and processes.

If you’re expecting to be bowled over by a new technology trend any time soon, think again. Producing the desired business outcomes now means getting your human resources to expertly fuse together already-available technology building blocks and tools. And that’s what will fuel IT market growth of about 4% in 2019, CompTIA says.

So what is the relevance to cybersecurity in all this? Strategic thinking and the application of available skills inside an organization are key to solving cybersecurity challenges. Sure, technology will always matter but it’s how you combine it with people and processes that will make the difference.

Organizations ignore cybersecurity at their own peril as they undergo digital transformation to produce business outcomes such as improving operational agility and enhancing customer experience. “There may not be a next big thing, but there is one very big thing that is as old as IT itself. Cybersecurity continues to rise in importance as business and daily life are increasingly digitized,” the CompTIA report states.

Innovation without security isn’t really possible – or at least not advisable. And that’s why you need a well-trained cybersecurity staff with updated security skills. (ISC)² offers a free professional development course called ‘DevSecOps – Integrating Security into DevOps’ as part of its PDI portfolio to help its members learn more about integrating security into software solutions from the outset.

It will be interesting to see what this ‘the next big thing is dead’ mantra means for security practitioners if IT departments become less focused on new technology trends and more on integration and building out existing platforms.

Do you agree that this is the case, or do you see a new technology trend lurking on the horizon?