As 2014 draws to an end CloudExpert layed out it's top 5 predictions for the Sync, Share and Collaboration Market for 2015. And ClearCenter agrees with most of them. 

1. Enterprises will look to adopt hybrid cloud services that aggregated on-premise and cloud services:
Enterprises, and most companies, use a myriad of on-premise and on-cloud services. Almost all of these services now store data either in the form of attachments or direct use of storage. Companies will embrace solutions that work with what they have.
2015 Enterprise File Share and Sync predictions

2. Solutions that can be deployed on premise as well as in a range of clouds will be attractive to strategically thinking companies.
Not everything will end up on Cloud and for bigger companies they will act as their own service providers so companies want the the choice of private, hybrid or public implementations.
Research by the Enterprise Strategy Group pinpointed 97% of the organizations that use public cloud-based File Share and Sync had an interest in storing some of their file data using their on-premises storage.

3. Security and control will be top of IT's agenda amidst the well publicised Sony Hack
The Sony hack was the enterprise's Snowden moment, when all those doubts and thoughts about their own security policies around files bubbled to the surface. This has resulted in data security and control becoming even more of a concern for IT departments who are tasked with protecting corporate data.

4. Remotely stored data will have an encryption first policy:
Enterprises will force an encryption first policy for sync and share data to mitigate disaster for data breaches of service infrastructures outside of their control.

5. Vendors will continue to be acquired or die as the drive to zero pricing affects all:
There is no doubt the Enterprise File Share and Sync space is crowded with backup vendors, gateway vendors, collaboration vendors and content vendors all looking to add some form of sync and share to their features set. Coupled with this the price war that has raged throughout 2014 between Google, Amazon and Microsoft is likely to continue driving some vendors out of business and causing others to look at acquisition as an early exit.

By Jim Liddle