I spotted an article on the ZDNet blog and thought it would be a great piece to share. The article expands on what they call the “big five” most influential IT trends that will hit over the next half decade. The trends include mobile, social, cloud, consumerization, and big data. I will introduce each trend within a five blog series. So stay tuned over the next week to get “in the know” about what to expect for the future of IT! 

ZDNet calls out a tectonic technology shift going on in the world today, in which where the world is heading does not match the technology approach many companies are using to run their business. Five major “generational scale” changes to the computing landscape are occurring at the same time. According to ZDNet, the changes contain a shifting of delivery platforms (mobility, cloud, social), reinvented communication and collaboration channels (web, mobile, social), driving innovation in consumer technology, and data opening up and exploding out of the proliferating apps, devices, and sensors the organizations are deploying or are connected to.  

The new generation of IT can be summarized with words like “easy”, highly mobile, and “social”. In order for companies to be successful, consumer and enterprise technology must continue to blur together.  

Organizations need to pay attention to the big five IT trends. Such trends will help them plan for their current tech strategies as they continue to update and modernize.  

Next-Gen Mobile- Smart Devices and Tablets 

Smart mobile devices are gaining widespread popularity and use. ZDNet source, predicts by 2015 the tablet market will be 479 million units and the PC market will be ahead by only 56 million units. That means tablets will reach effective parity in 3 years. Additionally, the number of employees bringing personal devices to work is on the rise. Both are evidence signifying that companies must start treating tablets equally in their IT strategies.  

However, many companies do not adopt smart devices because of their poor enterprise ecosystem and security concerns from the IT department (regarding easy to access apps).  

ZDNet’s suggestion: “design a loss of control”, in which your company provides a framework to employees on how to use their mobile device safely at work, especially regarding the correct way to use business data. This solution will encourage innovation and allow employees the freedom to use their favorite mobile apps to solve business problems. 

Read the full article: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hinchcliffe/the-big-five-it-trends-of-the-next-half-decade-mobile-social-cloud-consumerization-and-big-data/1811

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