Lundquists 2010 Halftime IT Report: Cloud, Mobility, Economy

Lundquists 2010 Halftime IT Report: Cloud, Mobility, Economy

by Eric Lundquist

The Rebounding Economy Is Driving a Rebounding Tech Refresh

Even though the economy remains uncertain, IT managers cant keep flogging along older systems. Those old systems cost too much to maintain and cant run new applications.

Clouds Are Everywhere: Public and Private

Advice to tech vendors: Stop saying why your private cloud is better or different than the other guys public cloud. Just like the Internet, it all becomes one big computing infrastructure and the real action is in building services and applications that can cross barriers between private and public cloud computing infrastructures.

Enterprises Are Getting Smart(phones)

Smartphones are now smarter than the desktop and laptop computer. They are certainly more mobile and have a richer set of applications. These phones are sweeping through the enterprise and will change the business computing model. There are also more choices as Google and Apple get ready to clash in this hot marketplace.

Mobile Enterprise, Mobile Internet Is the New Model

Enterprises are now dispersed with employees working out of their homes, hotels and cars. That is not going to change. It’s time for the business strategists to design companies for mobility rather than thinking the workers are coming back to their cubes.

Apple’s iPad Is Looking Like a Game Changer

The iPad may, and I emphasize may, be game changing. It is a great media and personal platform. You will see Google and Apple slug it out in the tablet space just like in the smartphone space. Microsoft is noticeably missing.

Security Concerns Are Spurring Interest in Thin-Client Solutions

You want a secure environment? Keep the data secure and only allow it out of the house when an employee needs to work on it. When he is done working on it, move the data back to the secure space. That sounds like thin computing to me.

SAAS Is in Full Swing

The business app store is on the way. This will be a big headache for CIOs who have not yet figured out how to meld corporate compliance needs and business apps available at the touch of finger.

Big Vendors with Big Money Are Making Big Buys

Big vendors are cash-rich and innovation-poor. Startups over the last couple of years were designed for buyouts rather than stock offerings. The buying frenzy is not about to stop.

IT Services Are Giving CIOs Headaches

If you thought your employees using Internet e-mail such as Gmail was a problem, wait until they start grabbing apps and setting up social networks outside the firewalls.

Location, Location, Location

Your inventory is talking to you. Your employees smartphones are ready to reveal their locations. Are you ready to build a company around those capabilities?