1. Software as a Service (SaaS)
2. Virtualization
This technology has already made its mark on the data center. According to various industry estimates, between 50 percent and 60 percent of all servers are now virtualized. The goal, of course, is to reduce server sprawl—and the inefficiencies and higher costs associated with it.
Virtualization is continuing to grow. “It is now moving into the realm of SMBs [small and medium businesses], and is also extending into storage and onto the desktop”
3. Enterprise Mobility
It’s easy to forget that only a few years ago the typical office worker was bolted to a desk and connected to data by wires, cords and cables. Over the last few years, wireless technology—including 3G cellular data networks and widespread Wi-Fi—has opened the door to an anytime, anywhere business model.
The major drawback has been the necessity to grab data as needed and ensure that all data is synchronized on a real-time—or, at least, a near real-time—basis. “Ensuring that data is available when and where it’s needed has been an ongoing challenge”.
In fact, the concept will likely gain momentum in 2009, as cloud computing becomes more widely accepted. More bandwidth, better software and concerns for security are also leading more firms to adopt thin-client computing. These systems access data as needed and store it on a remote server.
“Technology has changed the entire business model and made telework and mobility a strategic advantage”.
4. Energy-Efficient Data Centers
It seems like only months ago that “green” represented little more than a nice idea and a noble cause. That’s until energy prices shot skyward and cost-cutting took on a sense of urgency due to deteriorating economic conditions. Now, “Green is on every company’s radar,”
Organizations understand how important it is from a basic business perspective.”
Chip and PC manufacturers are moving toward more energy-efficient components—including improved memory and resource management—but the big action in 2009 will be in the areas of virtualization and storage. “Virtualization eliminates energy costs, maintenance outlays, cooling expenses and data center costs by as much as 90 percent”.
“The payback is enormous, and it’s something organizations can no longer afford to ignore.” 5. Security, Risk and Compliance
In the constantly evolving areas of security, risk and compliance, there are no simple solutions. With each passing day, threats and challenges become more complex, and compliance becomes more of a concern.
Smart IT executives are beginning to recognize that having a tangle of systems and processes spells trouble. “Regulations are pushing organizations to change and be more in control of their systems and business processes”.
IT industry believe that automation is essential—particularly on the risk and security compliance side of things. This includes everything from intrusion detection to authentication; from patch management to analytics used for security. A growing number of organizations are turning to self-encrypting hard drives, two-factor authentication (to replace simple passwords) and security suites that provide central control panels. This trend will continue into 2009, as continuous-monitoring tools become standard in the enterprise.
6. Social Networking
LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace and a spate of similar sites have transformed social networking from a buzzword into a business buzz saw. Companies as diverse as American Express, Del Monte and Cisco Systems have unleashed powerful social networking tools, including wikis, blogs, discussion groups, collaborative filtering, and even applets and games. The concept is allowing these companies to tap into the power of human connections and knowledge in ways that were unimaginable only a few years ago.
In reality, social networking is nothing new. E-mail, chat and instant messaging are more basic forms of the concept. But, as Web 2.0 tools have emerged and other software has matured, “Social networking has become a way for organizations to leverage enterprise knowledge, customer-based business intelligence and more”.
Organizations are increasingly looking to next-generation social networking tools to conduct sophisticated business intelligence and analytics. In many cases, they are mining data and looking for trends and patterns, such as which salesperson has the relationships to pull off a deal or which customers seem to have the biggest influence with others online. Some are building LinkedIn- and Facebook-type applications to keep people in touch and ratchet up knowledge management initiatives.
“The goal is to do things faster, better and more profit-ably”. “That’s where the social networking light is shining. The tools are improving to the point where it’s possible to put information and resources to work in new ways and build greater value.”
7. Web 2.0 The evolution of the Web has been nothing short of amazing. Though each generation of tools creates new opportunities, the current and emerging array of Web 2.0 applications is completely revolutionizing the enterprise.
Some organizations are now exploring Twitter- or Facebook-like applications that allow individuals to push information out to followers and create a simpler, organic communications structure. Others are using Web 2.0 tools to handle everything from institutional asset management to business intelligence and analytics.
Web 2.0 is further enabling mobility and more seamless access to pertinent information.
8. Document Management and E-Discovery Managing business documents has traditionally been a sore point for many organizations. Although file cabinets have been replaced by databases, being able to find relevant documents when and where they’re needed remains a huge challenge for business.
“It’s not as simple as switching on a document management system and having everything at your fingertips.” Indeed, organizations are recognizing that document management and e-discovery ripple into areas as diverse as IT storage, mobile devices and business processes.Although vendors are adding more sophisticated capabilities to their applications—including the ability to track text messages, IMs and other types of unstructured data—the main challenge is figuring out how to develop systems that retain, manage, and retrieve documents and data quickly and seamlessly.
At the same time, organizations are learning that electronic discovery (e-discovery) is a process, not a technology. “It [e-discovery] increasingly includes a whole range of tools and technologies that create a complete solution".
Nevertheless, for both document management and e-discovery, new vendors are pouring into the market, with industry behemoths such as Oracle and Microsoft making their own forays. There’s some good news for enterprises looking to put solutions in place: “It is likely to be a buyer’s market in 2009". “Vendors entering the market are introducing products and solutions at a much lower price point than they were in the past.”
9. Project Management and Project Portfolio Management In today’s time-sensitive and budget-conscious world, getting projects finished on time is paramount. Not surprisingly, more and more organizations are turning to structured systems and software to track all the details. Consequently, project management (PM) and project portfolio management (PPM) have moved into the spotlight.
Meanwhile, PPM is evolving and bringing greater order to business-level decision making. Applications such as Daptiv PPM and Primavera (recently purchased by Oracle) are providing tools to mesh diverse workgroups, such as finance, marketing, human resources and IT—all while viewing groups of initiatives, conducting detailed analyses on them, and understanding the underlying relationships across organizational roles and teams.
As organizations embrace PPM, they are becoming far better equipped to react to rapidly changing business and industry conditions. “At this point, it is important for IT to develop PM and PPM expertise,”.“These started as business initiatives, but they have become a crucial part of IT.”
10. Web and Video Collaboration Not so long ago, the idea of a workgroup collaborating over the Web was unthinkable. Over the last few years, however, applications like WebEx and NetMeeting have revolutionized the way people interact—at least within some companies and in certain situations.
Today, collaboration tools are poised to go mainstream and further change the way business is conducted. According to the Boston-based research firm Aberdeen Group, 63 percent of companies say they will be using videoconferencing and so-called telepresence systems (essentially, a form of videoconferencing with high-quality images and audio) by the end of 2010. Only 18 percent say they have no plans to adopt these systems.
Driving this phenomenon are bigger pipes and converged data and voice networks within enterprises. “Organizations are beginning to realize that collaborative applications can serve as a significant competitive advantage.“The technology has the ability to shift the balance of power. Many organizations are turning to these applications for their mission-critical activities.”
Meanwhile, the mobile-video market is also gaining momentum. In-Stat, a market research firm in Scottsdale, Ariz., predicts that 160 million devices for viewing mobile video (not including mobile phones) will be sold over the next five years.
“We are entering a new era of video and Web collaboration”
