Gartner: 2012 Information Technology Predictions and Trends

Gartner, Inc. issued a press release announcing it’s 2012 list of top predictions and trends for IT organizations and users.  Highlighted are key trends like Cloud Computing, Social Business, Big Data, Security, and Mobile.  The predictions and trends made by Gartner align closely with the research I am conducting for my HorizonWatching 2012 Trends report due out in early January.

The eleven predictions from Gartner are as follows

1. Cloud Services:  By 2015, low-cost cloud services will cannibalize up to 15 percent of top outsourcing players' revenue.
2. Social & Collaboration Platforms.  In 2013, the investment bubble will burst for consumer social networks, and for enterprise social software companies in 2014.
3. Enterprise Email.  By 2016, at least 50 percent of enterprise email users will rely primarily on a browser, tablet or mobile client instead of a desktop client.
4. Mobile Apps.   By 2015, mobile application development projects targeting smartphones and tablets will outnumber native PC projects by a ratio of 4-to-1.
5. Cloud Security.  By 2016, 40 percent of enterprises will make proof of independent security testing a precondition for using any type of cloud service.
6. Public Clouds.  At year-end 2016, more than 50 percent of Global 1000 companies will have stored customer-sensitive data in the public cloud.
7. IT Budget Management.  By 2015, 35 percent of enterprise IT expenditures for most organizations will be managed outside the IT department's budget.
8. Asia Sourcing.  By 2014, 20 percent of Asia-sourced finished goods and assemblies consumed in the U.S. will shift to the Americas.
9. Cybercrime. Through 2016, the financial impact of cybercrime will grow 10 percent per year, due to the continuing discovery of new vulnerabilities.
10. Cloud & Sustainability.  By 2015, the prices for 80 percent of cloud services will include a global energy surcharge.
11. Big Data.  Through 2015, more than 85 percent of Fortune 500 organizations will fail to effectively exploit big data for competitive advantage.

Gartner has issued a full report titled "Gartner's Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users, 2012 and Beyond: Control Slips Away," which is available on Gartner's website at www.gartner.com/predicts. The report apparently has links to more than 70 Gartner ‘predicts’ reports broken out by topics, industries and markets.

Gartner also announced an upcoming webinar, "Gartner Top Predictions for 2012 and Beyond," at 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. EST on December 21. To register for the webinar, go to  http://my.gartner.com/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=202&mode=2&PageID=5553&resId=1842125&ref=Webinar-Calendar.