Top five strategic technologies for 2008

What do the Villager's see as the top five trends for 2008?
I'm trying to compile a list of technology trends that will sustain the IT world for the next 1-3 years.

Here is my top 5 list:

1) Distributed or "Grid" computing

Grid computing has been around for a while, but I see it picking up to a critical mass this year. Applications are being developed to run in this type of environment from the ground up. Some vendors that should benefit from this movement: Platform LSF, Sun GridEngine, and UnivaUD. They develop software that manages the "grid" environment.

In short Grid computing allows for the distribution of compute jobs to members of the grid based on policies or procedures defined by administrator(s). It allows for more efficient use of resources and the ability to chop up data components so they can run in parallel.

2) Enhanced web platforms that deliver applications reducing the need for stand-alone OS's.

I see the need for a stand alone Operating system to go the way of the dodo bird. OS's require large amounts of overhead and the sheer number and types of different OS's makes them difficult to administer. With the advancement of web technologies and "Software as a Service" infrastructures being put in place watch for companies to offload some of the OS specific tasks like spreadsheets and documents to web based front ends that can be easily shared, searched, and collaborated on across the enterprise.

3) Power friendly data centers

Green is in this year. I see CPU and hardware moving away from trying to compete for speed but rather compete on energy efficiency. As we see the prevalence of grids increase the need for high speed CPUs will actually decrease. It is more efficient to run grids with the lower energy components rather than large energy hungry components that produce large amounts of heat and require tons of cooling.

4) Mobile applications

A shift to increase mobile applications will go into full gear in 2008. You'll no longer need a company laptop to stay connected. Everything will be done from your phone. You'll see phones that can not only access email, but also company databases and direct connection to company servers. System's administrators will be able to administer all servers through a phone terminal on their iPhone. Other applications like GPS, and online mobile advertising will be enhanced and more prevalent.

5) Consolidation of social networking sites

Over the last few years we've seen an explosion in online social networking sites like myspace, facebook, linkedin to name a few. There will be some consolidation in this space allowing companies to tap into a broader community and introduce new technology that will further fuel this trend.

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Vassilios
Co-Founder
OuterVillage.com
http://outervillage.com

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