You might not
think that one month is sufficient time for a trend line for the rest of the
year to unfold, but a number of developments already have materialized that
give a glimpse at what is to come for 2010.
To that point, here
are 10 ways the year has started off in tech that will set the agenda for the
rest of 2010.
1. Mobility: We have Google, Apple, the telecom
carriers, Microsoft playing catch-up and more cool new mobile devices than
you can, well, hold in your hand. The workforce will not be going back to
their cubes. Corporations are going to have to rethink their structure and
design their organizations for mobile workers who are always online. This
workforce is location-aware and ready to do business.
2. Tablet
redux: Remember
Momenta? For about $5K you got a DOS-based tablet in 1991 that sort of
worked. And Bill Gates loved the tablet in 2001. The Apple iPad promises
to be the tablet that really does meet market expectations. Tablets have
always held a lot of promise in the business world, and even more so today
as a digital eReader that may finally make the paperless office a reality.
There are already rumors (and prototype
photos) of a Google Android-based tablet that will give Apple a run
for the money.
3. FCoE: No better way to start off the year
than with a good acronym. In this case, we’re talking Fibre Channel over
Ethernet (FCoE). FCoE holds the promise of converging storage area networks and data networks in
the data center, which would make administration, wiring and resource
allocation a whole lot easier. There remains a lot of work to do here, but
this is the year when the acronym becomes parts of the data center
arsenal.
4. Transitional
clients: You have
rich clients in a desktop or notebook format. You have a desire to
incorporate cloud computing and software-as-a-service offerings into your
traditional IT network. So, what do you do? You build clients with virtual
walls. The business apps run in a protected mode on the desktop or
notebook, while users can run all those games and social networks in their
personal virtual spaces. And, if all works, never will those two virtual
spaces spill over onto one another.
5. Microsoft
redux: Windows 7 is doing
well. Now Microsoft has to concentrate on building its own
transitional client/server business strategy.
6. Google
stretches its legs: There has been lots
of talk about a Google business app store coming this spring. This
would be a big deal, as a business could build a business from an app menu
and feel that Google's size and heft are behind the process. This year
could be a breakout year for Google in the business world.
7. Virtual
worlds redux: OK, Second
Life the first time around was a mess of obscene avatars and business
expectations that could never be met. I've taken a second look at Second
Life, and the virtual world looks more and more like a good place to
conduct seminars, distribute information and be a business hangout.
8. Social
networks redux: This year is the big year for social networks to find a business model.
I've taken a look again at Plaxo recently, which has found some sanity and
is returning to the model of being a good place to build, maintain and
extend contact lists. Facebook is still not the business place to be. LinkedIn
needs to rethink its pricing strategy, which puts needed improvements like
folder management out of reach for most participants.
9. Blossoming
of cloud-based business services: There are so many around: e-seminar services, secure backup services,
financial services. All that venture capital and sweat equity is
translating into really useful business services available on the Web. The
difficulty will be choosing the best of a variety of services aimed at the
same function.
10. Don't
forget Salesforce, Amazon and Ubuntu: Salesforce was the first to declare software dead and
services transcendent. Amazon was way ahead of the pack in offering its
infrastructure as a service and seeing the value in eReaders. Ubuntu keeps
getting better and more user-friendly. These companies and communities
have not been sleeping, and a rebounding economy will give them license to
introduce new services and features even faster.
