How the list is put together: it is not a list of ALL strategic technologies, the selection is made from the potential enterprise impact (on budget, business operations, new opportunities), threat and risk, short- and long-term issues, at maturity or reaching a tipping point, driving change and disruption, existing or emerging, targeting the mainstream enterprise. It is based on hype cycles, surveys, with a subsequent deeper evaluation. An item removal does not mean it is not strategic anymore (e.g. SOA).
The items in the list must be factored in the planning process.
The list is broken down between application, end-user and long-term trends technologies.
Changes from 2009: UC (no new perspective), specialized systems, servers (beyond blades) have been dropped, New are client computing, reshaping the data center, security / activity monitoring ("forgotten" technology), flash memory, mobile applications. Most other items have changed in focus or been "remixed".
#1 Cloud Computing
It is in the list at least because it so hyped ("Cloud-washing"...), although it is not a technology.
Characteristics: service-based (the consumer is not concerned by the implementation), elastic, shared, metered by use, based on internet technologies.
Focus on: consuming cloud services (3 main areas: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, with different vendors and different distribution of responsabilities, you need to develop policies), developing cloud-based applications (strategic because it involves SOA, web & cloud, again it allows multiple approaches, you need to develop techniques and skills), implementing private cloud environments (including hybrid models).
#9 Virtualization for Availability
Look at virtualization beyond consolidation: "live migration" (VMWare, Microsoft). It provides a single mechanism for high availability. Start lookin in these possibilities (including cases where HA was not feasible).
#5 Reshaping the Data Center
The typical data center planning does not work anymore. You need incremental build, with "slices" (maybe containers) added as needed. PUE is going down to 1.5 or 1.4.
Cooling and power are designed at zone levels.
#4 IT for Green Business
For companies where the main environmental impact lies outside the IT (not in the financial services, obviously).
Look for new areas of impact. Teleworking, remote communications are low hanging fruits. Analytics can also help (e.g. logistics). Smart building technology is also interesting. Carbon-tracking tools are getting critical.
#3 Client Computing
It is combining various trends and technologies: virtualization (different flavors), provisioning choices, cloud-based and RIA applications, devices and OSes matter less, MS upgrade decisions and factor the introduction of consumer devices in the enterprise.
Build a strategic client-compuing roadmap (for the next 5 to 10 years), especially because it is an important item on the budget. Don't let the suppliers build it for you.
#10 Mobile Applications
Mobile devices and applications see their numbers explode. It affects the B2C world, and it requires a strategy. The mobile apps need new servers and infrastructures. The delivery and support are complex. This item will evolve over time...
#2 Advanced Analytics
Focus on high-value new analytics, e.g. with operational analytics embedded in business applications. It is a building block for a pattern-based strategy. And it will evolve to predictive models.
Target various key business processes.
#6 Social Computing
Key advice for the (internal) Social Enterprise: don't just dump out a technology but establish a plan.
Customer communities are an important piece to look at (social CRM).
Enterprise 2.0 is also about bringing the enterprise to the public social media.
The "social profile" is at the convergence of all 3 and helps with social network analysis, which will allow to achieve new improvement and optimization on the processes.
#8 Flash Memory
It is strategic because it has a broad impact on system designs. The key is that it is starting to change storage in a big way: it is a new "tier" in the storage hierarchy between RAM and HD.
New mechanisms will be needed to select the right tier of storage for any task. It is a longer term trend.
#7 Security - Activity Monitoring
The picture is getting more complex (cloud computing, targeted attacks, insider threats...). You need add broad monitoring to the classic "perimeter defenses", with a new range of tools (e.g. DLP), that will progressively integrated.
No comments:
Post a Comment