It's easy to say every year was a hard one, but the technology industry faced a reckoning in 2018.

The rosy goggles are gone. The view is darkened by consumers, clients, politicians and regulators clamoring for transparency and accountability. Big tech’s previously unchallenged approach to technology tainted with doubt.

Underneath the drama-filled headlines lies the everyday reality of business technology, with organizations fighting to modernize and innovate while grappling with budgets, skills gaps, legacy systems and leadership buy-in.

Some defining themes in 2019 will pull from the milestones of last year, such as hardware vulnerabilities that rocked the cybersecurity space, GDPR's enactment, changes to immigration policies and multibillion dollar acquisitions.

CIO Dive compiled a series of trends and predictions breaking down key markets, from cloud and software to security and data, as well as reflecting on the future of CIO leadership, technology workforces and the evolving tech landscape.

1. CIO role gaining prominence as technology solidifies importance

   CIOs are making headway in the C-suite, influencing technology and business strategy as the importance of IT is understood. The coming year will see more investment into IT and an emphasis on technology's ability to make business bottom line goals possible. Read More >>

2. Cocktail of SaaS applications becomes the norm

   SaaS is dominating the way employees work and vendors effortlessly persuade non-IT employees to adopt their services. This makes IT's job all the more challenging because software governance is crucial, but so is employee productivity. Read More >>

3. AI, a new global order and the importance of planning

   Artificial intelligence-based and enabled technologies will heavily play into the next wave of enterprise computing capabilities, but innovators have to navigate and manage accountability, market support and hype. Read More >>

4. Security limited to the perimeter offers minimal safety

   Facebook, GDPR and Marriott contributed to the conversation around privacy last year. But for many companies, high-profile failures to maintain proper security has led to emboldened strategies. And as more companies declare data as an organizations's most valuable asset, increased security initiatives are set to closely follow. Read More >>

5. The cloud journey is never complete

   From hybrid and multicloud environments to the platform and software as a service layered on top, the cloud will continue shaping not only how business compute, but how they work. In 2019, even businesses well into a cloud migration will have to reassess what cloud computing means for their portfolio and near- and long-term strategies. Read More >>

6. In tech, how work gets done upstages who does it

   In leading companies, employees from all levels are incentivized to work across business lines in agile ways, bucking dated waterfall methods. Companies determined to reinvent the wheel of technology adoption lose sight of adaptive methodologies and creative hires. Read More >>

7. Forces and trends shaping the future of enterprise analytics

   Analytics and artificial intelligence capabilities are emerging as strategy drivers and innovators in a business. Many organizations are just starting the path to advanced analytics, and have many years and a swathe of foundational investments to make. Read More >>