Gartner, Inc. have presented their guide to the technologies which have “the potential for significant impact on the enterprise in the next three years.” The headings in bold are Gartner’s and I’ve added comments after each heading but you’re probably better checking out the details here.
- Cloud Computing. Obvious, but given the benefits of omnipresent technology with reduced management requirements, lower overheads etc this should feature heavily on the agenda of any organisations.
- Advanced Analytics. This could be the cure-all for information overload but we’ve been promised panaceas before so it’s may be a ‘wait and see’ as to whether advances in analysing data can finally outstrip advances in collecting it.
- Client Computing. This could be important operationally, financially and environmentally. With the rise of virtualisation and cloud computing we may finally get away from operating systems wars and the need to prescribe standards for every user in an organisation. Together with the change face of hardware netbooks, tablets, phones etc organisations will need a strategy which is flexible in the extreme.
- IT for Green. We’ve had the technology for years (video-conferencing, remote access, electronic documents etc) but the increase in awareness means we might actually see organisations utilising technology to reduce their environmental impact.
- Reshaping the Data Centre. Organisations must start to factor in the effect of the cloud, environmental taxes and increasingly energy security. Whilst the full impact of these issues cannot be gauged yet, the longevity of data centre projects means they will likely come into play during the life of many new and existing centres.
- Social Computing. Whether it’s the game changer proponents suggest is up for debate but no organisation can ignore it.
- Security – Activity Monitoring. There is an undeniable need to move to more automated and more sophisticated monitoring tools to meet security and regulatory requirements. But as evidenced by the data loss stories in the press many organisations needs to focus on more basic security matters such as encryption, media management and employee training.
- Flash Memory. I’m not sure that this will be a strategic for most organisations but nevertheless it will interesting to watch.
- Virtualization for Availability. Any technology which increases increases availability and reduces complexity should be on the watch list of all organisations.
- Mobile Applications. Organisations with a large consumer facing business, those who need to reach staff or consumers in remote or underdeveloped areas and those looking to project a forward thinking image would be well advised to begin investigating the possibilities surrounding the phone as an application platform.