28 Dec 2009, 11:59PM PT
20 Dec 2009, 6:50PM PT
Closed: 28 Dec 2009, 11:59PM PT
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We're continuing our series of cases here to develop interesting, engaging and useful discussions for our new sub-site, IT Innovations. We're looking for insights that might help IT managers stay informed and keep their operations competitive.
As the end of the year approaches, we're looking for your views regarding significant trends or events that happened in 2009 that will affect (or have already affected) data centers or IT management. If you have a list of the "top 10" IT milestones for 2009, that would be great. But if you only think there was *one* major event, and you'd like to delve into that topic -- we're open to that discussion, too.
If you're really ambitious, an overview of the past decade could be interesting as well. Looking back at the past can help everyone plan for the future, so recent lessons from the past year (or even the last few years) could be enlightening. How has the financial crisis affected the IT landscape? How does the current environment compare to the dot-com bust? What were the most game-changing products/services/concepts that were introduced in the recent past? These are just a few of the topics we'd love to hear your opinions on....
4 Insights
The most visible feature of this year was the iPhone breakthrough. Changing the mobile industry for good. But the most interesting feature of the iPhone is what it does not do, and how apps actually work.
The really important thing about mobile apps is that they push the hard work into the backend. Sure, you will find a lot of people who talked about the "cloud" this year, and this year also was the breakthrough year for "clouds" from Google and Amazon. But so far, these are not connected to the iPhone at all. Google is quietly trying to do so with Android, so when Android phones launch for real, the applications will change forever.
It already happened in the PC world, with widgets. But there, the pace of change is slower, and a lot of legacy still remains - Microsoft, for one. They struggle to change their way of working, but itis hardly likely that they will remain the company they once were and succeed. They are trying to turn themselves into a clone of what Google is trying to become, after all. But Microsoft and "do no evil" does somehow not work together.
Virtualization and multi-core processors, combined with cheaper memory (both as hard disks and DRAM) make this possible. Blade computers are really not very different from PC:s, just without casing and on a bus. There is clearly potential for something which leverages the still stiff competition in processor development.
From piracy to privacy, 2009 has been an eventful year, but the word of the year is Cloud. Pirate Bay founders found guilty and the ship has been sold, and Facebook steps afoul of privacy advocates, however, the story of 2009 has been about the emergence of cloud computing. The power of computing is moving from devices to the web. Mobile devices are driving this charge, from smart phones to net books, browser enabled devices allow users to access power tools with low power devices.
The term “cloud computing” has been around since the 90’s when NetCentric attempted to trademark the term (1,2), and was later appropriated by both Dell (2) and Eric Schmidt of Google (2). In current usage it refers to the web in general, but more so to the provision of tools and services via the web or storage on the web.
Since Hotmail and AOL, the web has provided useful services, but 2009 saw cloud computing move to another level with a view to the future of the web. More services than ever are offering a variety of free and cost tools which use the power of the web rather than the power of the device itself. Though many products like Photoshop Express, Google Docs and other web based services have been around well before this year, it was the increase in mobile devices which have really enabled the surge in web based services, and point to the solidifying of their place in our web lives.
Netbooks and smart phones exponential growth and reliance on the cloud for the bulk of their power and functionality signal that cloud services are the future of computing. From software as service to free and low cost photo editing and storage, and web based collaborative spaces and back up services, the cloud is meeting user’s needs.
Heading into 2010, the issue for IT professionals will be how to make the best use of cloud services while balancing security and control of your business’ data and information. IT’s role will shift further from supporting the infrastructure to evaluating the variety of choices and ensuring the safety of your company’s information and supporting its users as the cloud continues to grow.
References
1. “Who Coined the Phrase Cloud Computing?” By John Willis http://www.johnmwillis.com/cloud-computing/who-coined-the-phrase-cloud-computing /
2. “Dell’s Cloud Computing Trademark Application Criticized” By Wolfgang Gruener http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Dell-cloud-computing,6049.html
It’s that time again, when everyone who thinks they’re a pundit (that would be everyone with a blog or Twitter account) has to make predictions for the coming year. But predictions are perilous: Get it right and you look like a mere trend-watcher; get it wrong and you look like a fool. It’s such a hassle! So I’m doing something different this year: I’m going to make predictions for 2009 now that it’s over, and reflect on just how smart I am (not) to have made them.
I definitely could have predicted a lot of what happened in 2009. I mean, these were slam dunks!
What I Probably Could Have Predicted
Although some details would likely have been missed, I think I would have seen these coming.
What I Never Would Have Guessed
I’m not perfect, even in retrospect. Some of the Tech news from 2009 was justcompletely off the wall.
James Stevens Tue Apr 6 2:19pm |
I think one addition to this that still flies under the radar is Google Voice. It's the 2009 tech game changer that is quietly creeping into the market. I don't think people realize the huge implications of this free service, yet. |
Going into a new year, it's easy to forget to look back. But IT managers have faced biggers challenges over the last 10 years. Let's lift a glass of champagne, and remember the highlights of the last 10 years.
* We survived Y2K. In the end, it was a big bust
* USB drives. Mainly because the invention of the USB port meant dozens of users who could potentially transport viruses from their home computers without even realizing it.
* iPhones, iPods, and other mobile devices. That's been a defining trend for the last 10 years, but IT managers have finally begun to adapt.
* The rise of Network Access Control was an important milestone of the last ten years -- mainly because it addressed those clueless users above.
* Windows Server 2008. Love it or hate it -- at least it included Network Access Control.
* The Trusted Computing Group has been controversial because some argue it locks down hardware from the users themselves -- but it's going to be a big factor in the security of devices to come.