Insider looks at the developments that will shape the technology markets, and the companies to watch across the region
Economic doomsayers may be predicting European growth will come close to a grinding halt in 2012 but technological developments never stand still. The advantages becoming available through the cloud and on mobile devices will still encourage organisations to invest in new methods of working this year.
The evolving use of cloud computing will result in more companies taking advantage of affordable software tools, such as CRM systems, and greater efficiencies will be sought by moving IT infrastructure to remote data centres. The outstanding potential of smartphones, an omnipresent computer in people’s pockets, will also cause companies to rethink strategies as they seek to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals.
As businesses try to keep pace with these hi-tech developments, analysts at Gartner are predicting IT spending will increase by 1.5 per cent across Western Europe in 2012, compared with a 1.8 per cent fall in 2011. In their view, public cloud services will grow ten times faster than overall IT spending and will jump from €16bn across Europe, Africa and the Middle East in 2011 to €20bn in 2012.
“Irrespective of the technological advancements in cloud computing, for North West and UK businesses it is moving from something being discussed by many to a platform that will continue to be implemented in 2012,” says Andrew Brown, KPMG’s IT service line leader for the North and Scotland.
“In terms of the technology, the early adopters have concentrated on software as a service (SaaS). Globally, 46 per cent of cloud implementations were in this market, according to our survey. However, there are early signs of more end users exploring infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS), and we expect to see these trends develop further in 2012.”
Forecasters at Forrester predict this rapid adoption of SaaS through the cloud will account for 26 per cent of the entire packaged software market by 2016. And there has been a move towards providing online software stores such as Google Apps Marketplace, with thousands of new enterprise tools becoming available on a daily basis.
An app ecosystem has developed and created demand for specialist cloud consultancies.
Among them is Shaping Cloud, based at Salford Quays. Founder Carlos Oliveira says: “SaaS is still a new way of buying software but people are getting used to it. In 2012 you are likely to see more people competing in the cloud, which will lead to easier migration.
“More people are also likely to build their own apps to talk to their SaaS apps. It is cheaper to tailor something that isn’t quite right than build it from scratch. In that respect the lines between developers, SaaS providers and internal IT teams will become blurred.”
Other developments in 2012 are expected to focus on the rapid growth of smart mobile devices. Networking giant Cisco expects global mobile data traffic to double to 1.2 exabytes in 2012 as people use their mobiles more. When 4G networks are rolled out that figure is predicted to rise to 6.3 exabytes by 2015.
Companies have already begun exploiting the potential of smartphones for marketing and point of sale by developing apps and optimising websites for mobile use. However, there is likely to be an increase in the use of tools built into handsets such as GPS and near field communication (NFC).
“Phones are very intelligent and if used smartly they can be a great marketing tool,” says John Barratt, product leader at mobile marketing company 2ergo. “Mobiles can use GPS to detect if you are within 200 metres of a store or even just travelling towards a store. They can then use location-based tools to push messages that could say, for example, Debenhams is having a blue cross sale.”
NFC has the potential to replace payment cards by allowing people to make payments with their phone. It can also be used to replace loyalty cards and give companies an opportunity to collect data on customers, leading to more intelligent marketing. NFC is still a relatively new a tool but Orange and Barclaycard have already teamed up to develop an NFC-based Google Wallet, which is expected to be launched in the UK before the end of the year.
Garry Partington, chief executive of mobile technology company Apadmi, says: “Retailers will know what you’ve bought before when you walk in the store and people will be able to download loyalty vouchers to their phone. With these extra features companies can build more brand loyalty and people’s affinity with the shop they are in will grow.”
Also in: January 2012
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