Across the board, CIOs and IT managers are being encouraged (i.e., ordered) to "do more with less" (i.e., minimize or entirely eliminate non-critical IT purchases). This will naturally affect some products and vendors more seriously than others. For example, we expect sales to slow for corporate desktops, servers, and networking solutions, as few companies are deeply impacted by stretching the replacement cycles for those devices. However, since organizations continue to create, store, and archive information even in downturns, storage will suffer proportionately less. We also believe that sales of IT solutions that enhance the performance of existing technology assets -- virtualization and data de-duplication are two prime members of this category -- will remain relatively brisk.
Sustainability replaces "green." As an IT buzzword, "green" led the pack (closely followed by the lively "cloud computing" and a faltering "Web 2.0") for much of 2008. This was especially the case during the months-long crunch that saw U.S. gasoline prices spike to over $4.00 per gallon. During that period, the sky seemed the limit for alternative and renewable energy technologies, as well as numerous green data center initiatives. But interest in some green technologies plummeted in tandem with oil prices (just check out the myriad hybrid cars still available at Toyota and Honda dealerships).
That said, we believe that the case for energy efficient business IT remains strong, particularly given the economy's condition. At the same time, many vendors are shifting from promoting green IT to broader "sustainable" solutions that emphasize dollar return as much as ecological value, and we expect this trend to escalate in 2009. This seems entirely reasonable, since IT is one of the few areas that can help organizations become both financially and environmentally sustainable.
Tradeshows on life support. We noted fall-offs in attendance at a wide variety of IT tradeshows during 2008, and we expect this trend to continue or even accelerate in 2009. The media firestorm over Apple's ending its participation in MacWorld after 2009 (and Steve Jobs's participation in the upcoming January event) deflected attention from Novell's decision to cancel its BrainShare conference in March. Since BrainShare has chugged along for some 20 years, its demise may serve as a canary in the IT tradeshow coal mine.
That may be an overstatement -- the cancellations may simply be an acknowledgement of users' current, greater economic concerns. But if vendors are having fundamental problems defining or proving the value of their events, the tradeshow model may be in for even harder times. Whether that is the case or not, we believe that vendors would be wise to consider how they can best continue supporting and interacting with clients and partners in lieu of tradeshows and similar events.
By combining resources and expertise, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium will offer a blueprint for how industries can adapt to an AI-dominated future.
IT leaders should heed the guidance of cybersecurity insurance providers who think businesses should prioritize security education, incident preparedness, regular internal audits, and ongoing vulnerability scanning and patching.
There are many network courses that can address your present job's priorities and help you gain the needed skills to keep pace with industry changes and new technologies.
