Reliability will become a major differentiator. According to Intuit, 37 percent of SMBs are already fully cloud adopted, which means that 99.9 percent uptime guarantees may no longer be enough.

Compliant email archiving will become standard. Crucial for standard compliance with HIPAA and the like, but Intermedia believes it will become “table stakes for all companies in the near future.” By compliant archiving emails the value of intellectual property in emails is protected and will cut the cost of lawsuits.

Ex-employees will become a major security threat. According to Intermedia, in September, the FBI warned that “disgruntled and former employees pose a significant cyber threat to US businesses.” A recent survey found that 89 percent of ex-employees retained at least one login and password from their former employer.

Businesses may actually deploy too many Web apps. An average of 14.3 cloud apps per business will leave IT administrators overwhelmed by managing security, integration and mobility on top of everyday help desk duties.

Mobile device management will become a priority. According to SMB Group, 83 percent of SMBs have deployed mobile apps for productivity, making them susceptible to mobile security breaches or lost data should a device be stolen or misplaced. Businesses will see a growing need for syncing tools, remote wipes, and other ways to protect or restore data.