HorizonWatching

New IBM Commercials Highlight Smarter Planet Issues

IBM has just launched five new TV commercials in conjunction with the US Open tennis tournament. 

The TV commercials support IBM’s strategic Smarter Planet campaign, so there is a little selling going on in the videos.  However, these are important emerging trends, so here you go.

• Cloud – Message:  Workstations used to be tied to a mainframe. Now they're conversing with a cloud.
• Secure Collaboration -  Message:  The choice between being open and being secure isn't a choice anymore. Collaboration is the key to business on a smarter planet, but you need to make sure your business is protected.
• Oil -  Message:   Energy is one of the world's most vital resources.  How we extract, use and preserve this resource is vital to our future.
• Water -  Message:  Water is something we all take for granted, but there is a limited amount in the world. Smarter water management is necessary to ensure our farms, factories and businesses continue to have access to safe, high quality water.
• Public Safety – Message:  Cities all over the world are getting smarter.  By collecting, analyzing and sharing data, your city can be safer, too.

I really like the creative look and feel of these commercials.  I understand there was a bunch of research that went into them.   While I believe the commercials will appeal to the public at large, they are obviously designed to target the IT audience, line of business leaders and CXOs. 

For more on IBM’s Smarter Planet initiative, check out http://www.ibm.com/ibm/ideasfromibm/us/smartplanet/index.shtml

Gartner’s Latest List of Disruptive Technologies

Every Wednesday, Gartner does a free webinar on a variety of topics.  Earlier this month, they had a presentation titled "Technology Trends You Can't Afford to Ignore."   I attended the webinar and took some notes.

The webinar provided attendees with Gartner’s latest list of disruptive technologies.  According to Gartner, a disruptive technology is one which drives major change in business processes or revenue streams, consumer behavior or spending, or IT industry dynamics.  It’s important that companies have processes in place to identify the disruptive technologies that will impact their business and develop plans to address these disruptions. 

Gartner regularly publishes disruptive technology lists.  Back in October 2007, I posted Gartner:  Five Disruptive Trends, which was a summary of their current list at that time, which included the following five trends:

1. Web2.0
2. Software as a Service
3. Global-class computing
4. The Consumerization of IT
5. Open-Source Software

You can read my October 2007 post Gartner:  Five Disruptive Trends for more on that Gartner list.

So I was interested attending the webinar and seeing what was on Gartner’s list this time.  Here is a summary of Gartner’s July 2009 list of the top 10 technologies that will drive significant disruption over the next five years.

1. Virtualization.   Virtualization helps reduce the number of servers used, decreasing power consumption.
2. Data Deluge.  According to Gartner, the amount of data produced around the world will grow by 650% over the next few years, and 80% of it will be unstructured.
3. Energy & Green IT.   We need to come up with regulations for technology and power consumption. 
4. Consumerization & Social Software.  Consumerization, Social media, social computing, and social networking will change the way we work.   See my April 16, 2009 post on The Consumerization of IT  or my March 12, 2009 post Social Computing as a Disruptive Force for more on this trend.
5. Unified Communications.    Unifying communications will allow users to route communications to their preferred device and change that device preference whenever they need to.  
6. Mobile  Mobile devices 10 years ago were just phones.  Today, they are little computers. Tomorrow, it may be the primary device employees use to get their work done.  
7. Complex Resource Tracking  This is all about the need to manage our networks more efficiently
8. System Density.   We are going to need more and more servers.  That's going to increase power and cooling requirements, even as the price of the hardware continues to drop.
9. Mashups and Enterprise Portals.  Employees will increasingly need and demand new ways to see information. 
10. Cloud Computing. Cloud-computing can certainly save you a lot of time and money, but it will cost a lot of time to make the switch to the cloud happen.  I spent a bunch of time researching cloud computing.  For more information, see this post, which also contains links to other cloud computing posts I have done.

A quick comparison of the 2007 list with the list today, we see that Consumerization of IT/Social Software made both lists.  And we also see that Saas/Cloud Computing made both lists.   Both these trends are important disruptive trends, for sure.

For more information, or to download the replay and a pdf of the presentation, go to this Gartner website: Webinar Wednesday Series: Technology Trends You Can't Afford to Ignore

Midsize Companies Must Work Smarter, Leaner

A new IBM-sponsored study, “Inside the Midmarket: A 2009 Perspective”, found that although the economy is driving midsize companies to work smarter and leaner, many of these midsized companies are not actually decreasing their investments in IT, but maintaining current levels or increasing their IT spend to focus on strategic areas.

There is no doubt in my mind that these midmarket companies will play an important role in re-energizing the economy.  It is refreshing to see that these companies are not only resilient, but they are willing to invest in emerging technology areas that will position their companies for growth when the economy does improve.  

The study identified five important trends for midsized businesses:

1. The highest-priority technology solution, chosen by 75 percent of respondents, is Information Management, which turns mountains of data into meaningful insights.
2. The most pressing business challenges include increasing efficiency and productivity (80 percent), improving customer care (74 percent) and better use of information (72 percent).
3. The impact of the economy on IT budgets has caused 53 percent to actually increase or re-prioritize their spending, with 37 percent reporting a decrease.
4. Despite the economy, more than two-thirds of those surveyed are planning or currently implementing their top IT priorities.
5. A majority of firms view their primary IT provider as a technology advisor or IT and business consultant, with 25 percent seeing the relationship as purely transactional.

And despite pressure to cut costs, the survey found that midsize companies are proceeding with IT investments in emerging technologies in areas such as information management, social media, and cloud computing.    Although these areas showed up lower on the scale of critical priorities, midmarket companies are actively pursuing these emerging technology areas to improve performance.  The survey shows that 79 percent intend to implement or have established goals to implement Green IT solutions, while 71 percent said they have plans to implement Web2.0/social media solutions and 69 percent said the same for cloud computing solutions.

The “Inside the Midmarket study” was based on an online survey of 1,879 respondents in 17 countries, is designed to gain insight into the business plans and challenges, growth/innovation strategies, IT purchasing trends, and industry-specific pain points of midmarket companies (100 - 999 employees).  To download the study, visit http://www.ibm.com/press/attachments/ibm_midmarket_trend_study.pdf

Four New IBM Cloud Computing White Papers

Last year I was focused on researching and analyzing the Cloud Computing marketplace, which was all the hype last year.  This year I’m focused on other topics (namely social media and online communities), but I am still dabbling in cloud computing. 

Here are some new cloud computing white papers from IBM, who has been an early leader in the push towards enterprise-based cloud computing.

1. Cloud Computing Saves Time, Money and Shortens Production Cycle:  TAP’s role is to prototype and deploy new IBM technologies with 100,000 early adopters who will test-drive and provide feedback on new applications.  Based on their feedback, IBM decides which of the myriad new technology applications to move into production.  Get this white paper here:  http://www-01.ibm.com/software/success/cssdb.nsf/CS/ARBN-7QK2YV?OpenDocument&Site=corp&cty=en_us
2. Cloud Computing Improves Productivity in IBM Benchmark and Learning Centers.  The technical support demands of the Benchmark and European Learning Center in Montpellier, France are high.  Before the adoption of cloud computing, provisioning the IT infrastructure  for a benchmark or course required more than a week of intensive labor.  Get this white paper here:   http://www-01.ibm.com/software/success/cssdb.nsf/CS/ARBN-7QJVSV?OpenDocument&Site=corp&cty=en_us
3. IBM Research Doubles Its Productivity with Cloud Computing.  IBM researchers can testify first hand to the benefits of cloud computing. The labs are living workshops scattered around the globe where cutting-edge innovations for new technology, services, IT optimization, streaming workflow and disaster recovery are forged.  Get this white paper here:  http://www-01.ibm.com/software/success/cssdb.nsf/CS/ARBN-7QK2GE?OpenDocument&Site=corp&cty=en_us
4. IBM Computing On Demand Uses Clouds to Increase Business Productivity.   Computing on Demand (CoD), utilizes cloud computing technology to deliver the computing capacity customers want, when they want it and only for the time period they require it.  It’s this on-demand feature that makes CoD so customer-friendly.   Get this white paper here: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/success/cssdb.nsf/CS/ARBN-7QJRWV?OpenDocument&Site=corp&cty=en_us

For more on IBM and cloud computing, go to it’s main cloud computing website: http://www.ibm.com/ibm/cloud/

For more cloud computing thoughts check out my previous posts

• Cloud Computing: What is it?
• cloud computing resources
• why should business execs care about cloud computing?
• Primer on cloud computing
• Thoughts on cloud computing
• Accenture on Enterprise Cloud Computing
• SaaS

CIOL: Top Trends in India for 2009

India is a big part of the future of the IT industry.  I think we all realize that.

I was looking for 2009 trends lists that were specific to India and came upon the CIOL website.  CIOL is short for Cybermedia India Online LImited.  The CIO website http://www.ciol.com focuses on the Information Technology industry within India.  It appears that CIOL has become a popular Internet destination for IT professionals, vendors, solution providers, CIOs and CEOs of Indian enterprises.

The website had a Special Report that provided 2009 outlooks on a number of IT segments.  In many cases, CIOL invited executives from Indian IT vendors to provide their own views of what the important trends will be in the India IT industry during 2009. 

Below you'll find that I've summarized the relevant trends posts on CIOL by by major IT trend category. 

CIO Challenges

• Top CIO challenges for 2009: Cisco  VC Gopalratnam, Chief Innovation Officer, Cisco India
• What should be CIOs' outlook for 2009?   by V.S. Manikkam, Head, IT, Henkel Information Technology
• Top 10 CIO challenges Lists from both V.S. Manikkam, Head, IT, Henkel Information Technology and Sandeep Kothari, AGM-IT, The Bombay Store

Mobility

• Top 10 India trends for mobility   by Sourabh Jain, Founder and CEO, ngpay
• Top 10 trends in mobility in 2009: GlobalLogic  From GlobalLogic.
• Top trends in enterprise mobility for 2009: Cisco  Paramjit Singh Puri, Business Development Manager, Advanced Technologies, Cisco Systems, India & SAARC,
• Top Trends in India Mobility 2009   by Rajesh Jain, entrepeneur/Founder and Managing Director of Netcore Solutions

Security

• Security trends to watch  by Symantec
• Top 10 trends in security  by MS Rao, CEO and Co-founder Aujas Networks
• Security tech trends for 2009  Lucius Lobo, Director Security Consulting, Tech Mahindra Ltd

Outsourcing

• Trends for global outsourcing in '09  Avinash Vashistha, CEO, Tholons

Enterprise Technologies

• Top 10 enterprise technologies for 2009   Arun Gupta, Customer Care Associate and Group Chief Technology Officer, Shoppers Stop
• Top enterprise technologies for 2009  Aaron Katz, Area Vice President, Corporate Sales, Asia Pacific, Salesforce.com
• Top eight enterprise solutions   By Unisys
• Top 10 enterprise technologies for 2009   Shiv Kumar, Executive Vice President, Business Development, Zylog Systems
• 6 disruptive technologies by 2025  Posted by Subrato Das, Reliance Communications
• Cloud Computing  From Narasimha Rao, Country Manager, Akamai, India
• Eight key trends for 2009   by Accenture.  Download the Accenture Technology Vision 2008 free
• Developer Trend for 2009: Cloud Computing   Aaron Katz vice president, Corporate Sales, Asia Pacific, Salesforce.com

Networking Trends 

• Networking & Security trends for 2009  Nagendra Venkaswamy, MD, Juniper Networks, India
• Top networking trends for 2009   by Tata Rao Sr. Vice President, System Engineering, Cisco India & SAARC.

Storage Trends 

• Top Storage Trends for 2009  Rajesh Itagi, Director, Client Services, EMC
• Storage challenges of Indian SMEs A NetApp presentation on data explosion trends, which examines storage challenges of SMEs

So those are a bunch of trends posts that CIOL published.  After reading them you can get a good feel for what is important in India during 2009.   If anyone reading this has other good sources of 2009 trends in India, please provide them in the comment section below.  Thanks!

Accenture on Enterprise Cloud Computing

Accenture has been relatively quiet the last 12 months on the subject of Cloud Computing....there's been relatively little from them on this important disruptive trend.   Searching their website, you really can't find much on the topic.  However, I see they have just published a brief on the topic titled  What the Enterprise Needs To Know About Cloud Computing .  The report is fairly basic, providing an overview of the trends, key drivers and inhibitors, along with some recommendations to CIOs. 

Here are some takeaways from the Accenture brief:

• Accenture's definition of Cloud computing:  "the dynamic provisioning of IT capabilities (hardware, software or services) from third parties over a network"
• Five Adoption Drivers: 
  1. Maturation of the Internet as an IT platform
  2. Virtualization
  3. Hardware commoditization
  4. Standardization
  5. Open source software
• Five Obstacles
  1. Security in a shared third-party environment
  2. Data location, compliance and integration issues
  3. Lack of Service-level guarantees
  4. Legacy systems not tied in yet
  5. Procurement not ready for cloud computing
• Three Steps CIOs should take:
  1. Use the cloud for the right jobs. Accenture recommends public clouds like Amazon EC2 as an inexpensive and flexible alternative.  It says it EC2 and those like it are mature enough for non-business-critical projects including research and development and software development and testing.  Accenture also says that the EC2 and like public clouds are also well suited for computation-intensive jobs such as data cleansing, data mining, risk modeling, optimization and simulation.
  2. Target the right users for cloud applications. Accenture says to switch some workers to lower-cost, cloud-based solutions based on the type of work they do.  It says to consider contact centers and offshore locations.
  3. Take small steps toward an internal cloud.  Accenture says that CIOs should continue to focus on virtualization and datacenter consolidation initiatives and that these initiatives will eventually lead to internal cloud.

For the full brief, download What the Enterprise Needs To Know About Cloud Computing  

My take is that in 2009 we will see increased focus on private enterprise clouds.  This is a perfect time for IT departments to experiment with the cloud service delivery model.  The eventual end of the financial crisis and recession could be a significant lever in the adoption of Cloud Computing.   One of the major benefits of cloud is the agility it offers.  Application development and system provisioning can happen much faster with a cloud infrastructure, allowing business to deploy new capability faster than ever before.  As the recession ends and growth picks up, the companies with the fastest response to the reappearance of market opportunities will be the ones to benefit most—and they are likely to be the ones that are already experienced in deploying and exploiting Cloud solutions.

14 Emerging Technologies on My Radar

Here's some technologies that will impact us in the future that I am keeping my eye on.  Some of these are around today but just haven’t hit prime time, others are in the works. 

1. Internet 3.0    The web will transform into a personal agent that basically tells us what we want to to know and when we want to know it.  Important enabling technologies will be wireless technology, sensors, location and semantic technologies. 
2. Enterprise Social Networks:  We are already seeing the impact of social networks on our personal lives, but they are just starting to make inroads into enterprises.  Social networking technology will have profound impacts on management systems within enterprises.  Corporations will turn to new innovative business models based off of crowdsourcing, social network analysis, prediction markets and user ratings. 
3. Virtual Worlds:    There is no doubt that virtual worlds need to get easier before they become more mainstream.  It has to be integrated with social software platforms and instant messaging.  Ease of use, visible presence, unified communications and personalization will make virtual worlds a reality. 
4. Nanotechnology....Already having an impact in a number of industries, nanotechnology will enable unprecedented levels of control with incredibly small parts...having all sorts of implications for future materials, hardware components, and devices.
5. User Interfaces:   We are so used to using the mouse and the keyboard as an input device.  I think we are in the early stages of totally new ways to interact with our electronic devices.  The short term focus will be on touch technologies.  After that, I expect advancements in gesture computing and speech technology.  Regarding display technology, I'll be looking for new displays that will offer 3D, be flexible and project over large areas. 
6. 3D printers:  3D printers will provide a way for businesses to rapidly prototype potential products.  The technique involves "printing" three-dimensional objects with plaster or resin.  Some are even predicting a mass market for 3D printers for consumers.
7. Robots:  Robots will increasingly make their way into the business and consumer markets.  The Roomba vacuum robot we have in our house does a great job.  Expect robots to be increasingly used for applications like military operations, lifting and rescue operations, security, healthcare delivery, human companionship and other mundane chores. 
8. Mobile Applications & Services.   There can be no question that mobile devices are important to the future of business.  The gold rush is on to develop enterprise-based mobile applications, services and cloud infrastructures, both public and private.   I expect a flood of new application services designed specifically for the business mobile user, including those incorporating location awareness, video, and social technologies.  In the future, your mobile device will contain your profile information and will mediate relationships across social networks, commercial transactions, security clearances, and any device with embedded intelligence.
9. Human augmentation:   Technology is increasingly playing an important part in healthcare.  My eyesight is just great thanks to that Lasik surgery I had 9 years ago.   On the horizon are advancements in implants, brain interfaces, genetic selection and nerve to prosthesis applications.  If you saw the movie IronMan last year, you have an idea of where all this is heading. 
10. Telepresence/Video Conferencing.   Telepresence and 3D video conferencing capability will eventually be common for enterprises, having a huge impact on corporate travel, workforce collaboration and productivity.  It will allow enterprises to form closer relationships with clients, partners, and clients.
11. Quantum Computing....Perhaps a little further out than a 15 year planning horizon, quantum computing will allow computers to perform calculations in seconds versus the hours it takes today.
12. Embedded Intelligence...Embedded intelligence will enable an increasing amount of communication with mobile devices, appliances, store shelves, vehicles, bridges, buildings, people, animals, and even plants.  Embedded technologies and solutions will allow enterprises to create a true sense and respond framework.  By extracting useful events and insights from this data, organizations can quickly respond to new opportunities and / or threats. 
13. Cloud Computing... The rise of data-intensive applications, virtualization, and mobile and networking technologies is driving adoption of cloud computing.  As sensors proliferate and the world becomes 'smarter', more computing power will be needed to keep up with all the transactions.
14. Cleantech... There is a growing focus on products and services that improve the efficiency of assets while reducing energy usage, waste, or pollution.  There are a number of emerging technologies in this area, including water management, solar energy, wind energy, biofuel green buildings, green IT, intelligent transportation systems, smart grid, and fuel cells.

There's more than just fourteen on my radar list, but these come to front of mind right now.

IBM Launches Smarter Planet Campaign

In the future, every human being, company, organization, city, nation, natural system, and man-made system will be interconnected, instrumented, and intelligent.   Imagine what that will be like.  Wow! 

How do we get there?  IBM's Smart Planet campaign, which kicks off today, will help position IBM to participate in this future.   As I write this Sam Palmisano, IBM's CEO is preparing to speak to The Council on Foreign  Relations in New York City on the topic of “A Smarter Planet: The Next Leadership Agenda.  At the bottom of this post I'll provide some more links on the campaign

This is a perfect time to launch this campaign.  At this very moment in our planet's history, there are a number of very significant and fundamental shifts that are occurring in society, business and technology.  These shifts are playing an increasingly critical role in shaping the agenda of both the CEO and IT Managers.  IBM is in a unique position in the industry and should have a big role in communicating to CEOs and CIOs the implications of these shifts.  IBM will also need to deliver a roadmap to the future Smarter Planet.  Look for the Smarter Planet campaign to do just that.

Fundamental Shifts...

So let's reflect on some of the important shifts that are occurring across our great planet...

New Intelligence:  The explosion of information is driving the need for new  intelligent systems.

• An explosion of next-generation mobile & computing devices, a system of a trillion smart devices and physical things—more connected, alive with intelligence are creating insights that could improve competitive advantage.
• Scores of new devices and touch points that are collecting terabytes of valuable new customer data daily.   This has created a massive data explosion - enterprise data expected to grow 57% CAGR 2010
• Web 2.0 is enabling two-way collaboration with customers that is shaping new business models and razor thin margins are forcing companies to identify and capture customer opportunities in real-time

Globalization:  Globalization is transforming society and reshaping business at a rate that few imagined.

• Global markets are creating change on an unprecedented scale - new consumers, new infrastructure, new WW talent pools, and aggressive new competitors for Western markets will impact firms of all sizes
• A huge new global “middle class” is awakening before our eyes” – unfolding with a greater disposable income.  Just consider the impact China and India consumers will have in the future.
  • A growing Chinese middle and upper class: 2005=7%; 2015=45%; 2025=71%.
  • Indian middle and upper class: 2005=7%; 2015=26%; 2025=49%
• An estimated 2 Billion people will be on the Web by 2011.  This will drive an insatiable demand for goods and infrastructure.  Companies will have a much more demanding customer set that wants locally tailored/customized solutions.

Impact of Technology:  Technology has enabled a freedom of choice that has created a wealth of new client expectations.

• Technology is freeing people from traditional constraints that once governed their lives. It is enabling personal and professional “freedom” and interaction wherever, whenever, however.
• Growing global prosperity is giving rise to the pursuit of new customers in new markets, while ubiquitous connectivity is creating a growing class of more informed and collaborative customers
• Systems & processes enable billions of people to work & live; physical goods to be developed, manufactured, bought & sold; services to be delivered; & movement of everything from people , to money to oil, & water

Green Initiatives:  New environmental responsibilities have awoken the public’s consciousness and shocked business into new approaches.

• New responsibilities including environment, air, energy, water & food shortages are now pervasive and urgent issues. There are visible signs of climate change, $140+ /bbl. petroleum prices, rising energy costs, rising energy demand, environmental compliance and governance mandates
• Mainstreaming of “green” beliefs/activism. Customers, employees, regulators, investors, and other stakeholders look for actions that produce genuine results that improve their environmental and financial results. Companies & governments of all sizes need to look across their operations, prioritize their focus areas / investments, & take action now.

Bigger Than The Industrial Revolution

This is an exciting time to work in the Information Technology industry as we are in the position to truly lead in this transformation to the vision I stated at the beginning of this post.

Future generations will look back at this time in history much like we look back at impact the period of the Industrial Revolution.  Back then, developing economies experienced major transformations in agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation.   Much of this was caused because of the introduction of the steam engine and related technologies.  The Industrial Revolution and the changes that occurred as a result, had a profound effect on socioeconomic and cultural conditions of those developing economies. 

The vision of a Smarter Planet will have a much larger impact than the Industrial Revolution.  It will usher in the Industrialization of Services.   And if you have been reading my posts this year, you know that I believe  that Cloud Computing will be the 'steam engine' that supplies the brain power for us to accelerate towards the Smarter Planet Vision.

Want To Learn More?

Take a look at A Smarter Planet page on ibm.com or check out some videos at Youtube playlist: Building a smarter planet