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I came across an interesting blog article by veteran technology blogger Dion Hinchcliffe titled “8 predictions for enterprise 2.0 in 2009”. Stickler for predictions that I am, I would love to share it would our blog readers. The list offers some interesting insights into where the enterprise application space is headed, especially as the recession weighs down heavily on corporates around the world. Prediction 1. Tight budgets will drive the adoption of low-cost Web 2.0 and cloud/SaaS solutions. Good news for companies with SaaS offerings. This is a prediction which is finding its way into all prediction lists. According to Dion “this could end up actually helping the smaller Enterprise Web 2.0 players as companies look to get away from the big-ticket, enterprise-class offerings from major vendors like IBM, Oracle, and others.” This is in tune with what I have often said about smaller, experienced enterprise collaboration players like HyperOffice offering major benefits in terms of costs and functionality over the big names that have been foraying into the SaaS domain. Prediction 2. Online community and 2.0 technologies become a priority for most organizations. Many major studies have predicted the growing importance of enterprise networking both with and outside the organization. Early data from the IT and Business Outlook Survey for 2009 shows these two areas as a top priority this year for respondents. CRM and customer service are becoming deeply connected with online communities of users as everybody becomes more attuned to social networking as a medium of interaction. Prediction 3. Cloud computing will remain one of the biggest new Internet developments. Cloud computing will become only a greater force in 2009. Dion expects cloud computing to “grow in leaps and bounds as organizations seek to cut costs, manage growth/shrinkage, and shorten time to market.” Prediction 4. Internal use of 2.0 will continue growth in large enterprises while the struggle continues with market-facing 2.0 products. There was widespread internal penetration of social networking and Enterprise 2.0 in organizations in 2008, but there was no successful creation of online 2.0 products for the broader marketplace. Almost all the success stories have come from startups like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. this is expected to continue in 2009. Prediction 5. The economic climate will at long last drive major advances towards aligning IT with business. There has long been a lack of sync between IT and Business, with IT developing its own agendas which are not completely in sync with business goals. With growing business pressures, IT will have to rationalize itself, especially with the additional options of outsourcing IT and SaaS solutions with business leaders. Prediction 6. Mobile platforms and devices will become highly strategic in 2009. 2008 saw a furor in the mobile space with major advances in iPhone and many other mobile companies following suit with powerful devices. This is expected to continue in 2009 as mobility will “untether the workforce, enable virtual organization while connecting workers together using new collaboration and communication technologies, many of which will be using 2.0 approaches.” If the desktop didn’t completely die in 2008, it will become almost completely outmoded in 2009 as the average smartphone becomes capable of helping users with a larger percentage of their daily computing and communication tasks. Prediction 7. SOA goes on a diet, picks up some new tricks, and survives. SOA although compelling, still lays too much emphasis on complicated technologies which take time to master. According to Dion “SOA will not survive in its present form and 2009 will be a deeply transformative year for it”. Prediction 8. The massive changes in the business landscape create new 2.0 business opportunities. With various industries in turmoil, like finance, mortgage and real estate, the new innovative players that emerge in these fields will be more modern technology-wise. According to Dion it “likely means things like user-generated mutual funds, online investment vehicles with 100% transparency, as well as real estate markets going fully online with self-service listings.”
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