February has just started and we've been so busy here at Backbone that I haven't had a chance to jot down my thoughts on how the tech world will develop for this coming year. Read on and let me know what you think agree or disagree?
10. Virtualization
With a growing number of businesses trying to cut operation costs and offer remote access to their employees, virtualization makes perfect sense. Virtual servers save businesses money and enable them to do more with infrastructure.
9. Privacy
Knowing the implications of using services on-the-go is critical. For example, many Canadians can't use services across the border. It's important to know what is happening to your information, where and when you can access it, and how protected it is when you're accessing it from public locations. Privacy is becoming one of the driving forces of do-or-don't in using web based services. Have you looked into the privacy statements of all yours?
8. Integrated Communications
We saw this progress in 2009 with the iphone and software that integrates several different communications platforms. This year we'll move closer to one single unified sign and part with separate systems. Phones, email and IM will be working together seamlessly.
7. Business Continuity
As businesses move online, the business world shifts from "9-5 to "24/7. With that comes an increased risk of outages, data loss, hardware failures and site disasters. All successful businesses who recover from these situations show their clients that they have a plan for incidences. Do you have a plan?
6. Compliancy
The spotlight is starting to shine on how businesses handle and track information. Particularly if you work in the health care, legal or government sector, the spotlight of compliancy will land on you. Policies and procedures need to be put in place for your big debut!
5. Work From Anywhere
including your flight to Hawaii!
Whether you are working from home on your DSL, at the airport on WIFI or even from the plane, you and your employees can work from anywhere. You'll see more of this trend in 2010 as the need to go to the office disappears and the need to deliver results takes center stage. Teleworking is certainly here to stay.
4. More Devices
Great news for all the gadget lovers out there! With the mini's that are perfect for carting around, laptops from home and desktops at the office, plus iphones and blackberries people are going to have more devices to manage their businesses with which of course means more access.
3. Security
Cloud computing. Teleworking. Multiple Devices. All provide access, but the risk of a security breach is increased data needs to be secure. The average business is implementing at least 1 of the items I just listed: make sure your data is secure and your network is virus-free. And don't forget to plan for the event of a security breach.
2. Green
Green is becoming a product of efficiency. By deciding to trim-the-fat of the business and use less power to reduce costs, the results are often green by nature. Instead of building data rooms (expensive, environmentally unfriendly), use green data centers that share power and cooling: save your money and feel good about it.
1. Cloud
In 2009 cloud computing started to gather momentum. We're still just looking at the tip of the cloud iceberg this year cloud computing is going mainstream. Businesses will get savvier about how to use the cloud this year, and learn more about their providers, where they are located and how they measure up against other providers.
There you have it 10 predictions for 2010. What do you think the tech trends of 2010 will be? I look forward to revisiting these in December to see how I did!
Small Business Owners
