Each year technology companies launch some new product or service touted as the next big thing, poised to revolutionize its particular market.
The fall of 2012 is shaping up to be particularly exciting in the computing world, with Apple recently introducing their iPad Mini, the smaller and more affordable version of their industry-leading tablet, and Microsoft’s upcoming release of the complete relaunch of its operating system, Windows 8. Each of those releases should make a real impact in personal computing, but what about in the world of information technology?
Each year IT analysis firm Gartner puts on a symposium that addresses the hottest new trends in that sector, and during their most recent Symposium/IT Expo they announced what their experts believe are the ten most important trends coming in 2013.
For Gartner, the key is strategic technology. That means the IT trend isn’t just a new product release that slightly alters current systems, but something that could make a real and lasting impact seen and felt over the upcoming three years.
Some of the factors they focus on are the size of the financial investment the technology would draw, the risk that IT firms face if they wait too long to adopt the new technology, and the potential disruption the product could cause on ‘business as usual’ in the IT space. The trends that made their report included some tech that has already been launched, but were improved or have grown to become impactful, as well as wholly new strategic technology.
According to the announcement made by David Cearley, a VP at Gartner, IT executives should look at each of these trends and plan on integrating them in their processes at some point during the next twenty-four months.
While the predictions involved trends in traditional IT, cloud computing, social media and mobile technology, mobile is one of the most important factors they considered. The report expects that 2013 will see mobile phones finally beating out PCs as the device most commonly used to connect with the internet.
Gartner expects that 80% of all mobile handsets will be smartphones by the beginning of 2015. And while tablets will become an increasingly important mobile device, Microsoft will only enjoy 20% of that market at maximum, even with the latest release of Windows. That will still be a significant share, but Microsoft will come in a distant third behind the Android and iOS systems.
Additional trends discussed involve the personalization of cloud storage and computing, which will help move consumer reliance away from PCs to smaller, lighter devices. Enterprise app stores will become more important, as targeted app stores become the norm.
Cloud computing will also expand the use of hybrid IT departments, so companies can buy into significant IT support without having to house whole departments. Data services will continue to adapt, requiring analytical systems that are more accountable, and easier to craft actions from.
On the processing side, in-memory computing will speed up batch processing, increasing business efficiency, and integrated ecosystems will further integrate informational work. So IT support London generates could tie in directly with IT departments in Asia or the US, especially as security systems improve. In the end, the Gartner predictions carry a ton of information, and the goal of an IT department shouldn’t be 100% integration. Rather, pick and choose what is important to your business and focus your efforts there.