Top Technologies: 2009 & Beyond

As economic uncertainty wreaks havoc on corporate budgets, IT leaders are under increasing pressure to ensure the IT function and its activities are consistent with corporate strategic objectives. CIOs must carefully guard IT budget dollars, wisely choosing technology investments that will make the greatest strategic impact and increase revenue.

Recently, several lists and surveys have sought to predict the tools and strategies that will play the critical dual role of supporting business strategy while boosting company revenue. These lists offer a “sneak peek” at which technologies many CIOs and top IT executives will be implementing and/or expanding over the next three years.According to technology research firm Gartner, Inc., its 2009 list focuses on technologies that “… impact the organization’s long-term plans, programs and initiatives.”
 

Although they may be labeled differently, several technologies appear on both notable lists above, which is a strong indication they should be given serious implementation consideration. Here are the technologies that overlap:

• Virtualization: Though definitions vary depending upon the type of virtualization, essentially this technology allows one computer or application to do the work of several.
• Web/Internet Apps and Architectures: As the need for the interoperability of applications increases, so will the need to build Web-centric applications to meet global needs.
• Social Networking: When it comes to this technology, Gartner says the “risk lies in failure to engage and thereby, being left mute in a dialogue where your voice must be heard.”
• Unified Communications: As consolidation continues in the communications industry, so will a company’s reliance on fewer vendors.

Tags: Cloud Computing, Service-oriented Architecture, Social Networking, technology, Virtualization