2011 IT Trends for Business and Companies

2010 is ending, and so, it’s time to analyze the 2011 trends in different aspects.

In my case, I’m interested in all the aspects related with IT and Information Systems, obviously.

An to do this, I reviewed different sources of information to collect the predictions they propose for next year.

Here there are.

I marked a set  of them (bold in red) I consider that are more intertesting for enterprises and business, beyond the IT department and its management.

Computerworld’s 5 IT Trends For 2011

• The recession is transformational.
• The spotlight remains on cost saving technologies.
• Mobile is exploding.
• Software is undergoing rapid change.
• Enterprise 2.o will run it’s course.

2, 3 and 4 are talking about SaaS and Cloud Computing.
Mobility will be a must, and authors refer, too, to “alternative workspace management software” (http://www.peoplecube.com/solutions-hoteling.htm?source=ITTrendBlog_1010) to support flexible work programms.

IIFL: http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Security-cloud-services-and-sustainability-to-be-three-most-important-trends-in-enterprise-IT-Ovu/5005526064

• Security
• Data Management
• Business Analytics
• Mobility
• Data Centre Transformation
• Cloud Services
• Collaboration
• Sustainability
• IT financial management
• Context-aware computing

ComputerWorld (Regev Yativ): Ten IT trends to watch in 2011
http://blogs.computerworld.com/17473/ten_it_trends_to_watch_in_2011

These are the

• Mobile computing remains important, exciting and risky
• Mix of in-house and outsourced services shifts
• Enterprise software begins migrating to the cloud
• Organizations embrace software lifecycle management
• Legacy modernization delivers much-sought ROEI
• The year of the better service level agreement (SLA)
• Graphical user interfaces get richer; maybe too much so
• Better performance comes to rich business applications
• Drowning in data, enterprises turn to BI
• Multi-tier architecture delivers the keys to integration

Trends 2 and 3 refers to SaaS and Cloud Computing.

eweek: IT Management: 10 Mobile Tech Trends to Watch into 2011: Gartner
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Management/10-Mobile-Tech-Trends-to-Watch-Into-2011-Gartner-493266/

2020Outlook: Top IT Trends for 2011 (Cascadia Capital LLC)
http://www.2020outlook.com/blog/2010/11/21/top-it-trends-for-2011/

• Increased competition between growth equity and strategic acquirers
• M&A, not IPOs, drive shareholder liquidity
• Web content management, analytics, marketing automation and customer relationship management (CRM) convergence
• SMB adoption of cloud services will drive consolidation of cloud vendors
• HIPPA compliance drives M&A for healthcare IT sector
• Technology enabled services companies become acquisition targets

And finally, let me refer to Gartner 2011 IT trends prediction (http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1454221), that were presented during its Symposium/ITxpo, in October:

• Cloud Computing
• Mobile Applications and Media Tablets
• Social Communications and Collaboration
• Social networking
• Social collaboration
• Social publishing
• Social feedback
• Video
• Next Generation Analytics
• Social Analytics
• Context-Aware Computing
• Storage Class Memory
• Ubiquitous Computing
• Fabric-Based Infrastructure and Computers

I include an image appeared in http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=1871 that resumes this 10 Gartner trends with a comparison between this year and next

As a personal contribution let me highlight main trends I consider companies should focus on:

• Cloud Computing
• Mobility
• Social networking (considering Enterprise 2.0)
• iProductivity (based on communication and collaboration)

And an another one that we want to focus, at Microsoft Innovation Center (www.micproductivity.com): Flexible Working and Flexible Offices

Social Media Revolution (updated video)

Very useful to understand the impact of Social Network in our lifes

12 IT-IS Key Concepts for Non Technical ‘Managers’

Usually, in my classes of “Information Systems” at EADA Business School (www.eada.edu), in the Executive MBA, Executive Marketing Management, Executive Operations Management and General Management programs, at the end of the last session I give to students a brief resume of key aspects I consider every ‘non-technical manager’ should know and consider about “Information Technologies”.

They are 12 key concepts I try to work during sessions in order to thought about the role of Managers in front of IT.

We are not talking to IT Managers (CIO), but the “Functional Managers” (Marketing, Operations, CEO,…) and the have a huge responsibility, also, in “Information Systems / Information Technologies” selection, adoption and exploitation.

I want to share with you these 12 key concepts

1. Information Systems (IS) comprises all the processes, policies and resources involved in gathering, storing, processing and transforming information, so that it can be used by organizations in their decision making processes. Information Technologies (IT) are all the tools (hardware and software) which help us to improve and optimize these systems.
2. Information Systems form a part of the company's infrastructure (value chain) and they need to be coordinated and balanced with the organization’s Planning Systems, Control and Compensation and Incentives.
3. Information Systems enable us to record transactions (information gathering) and constitute a support for planning and the setting of objectives, the design and carrying out of actions in order to accomplish these objectives and to control the results of these actions.
4. Information Technologies are applied in all the departments and areas of the company, both at a specific departmental level and at a business processes level (interdepartmental).
5. These tools are used at all levels of the organization: operational (information gathering, recording...) tactical (monitoring initiatives, information analysis...) and strategic (decision making).
6. Information Technologies (IT) constitute a source of improved productivity inside companies, automating structured processed (logistics and distribution, manufacturing...) and enhancing people's capacities in non-structured processes (meetings, collaboration and team work, knowledge management...). The incorporation of technologies is not in itself a guarantee for improved productivity unless it is accompanied by the corresponding investment in training and change management.
7. IT’s play an important role as a source of innovation (the product as such) and/or as a support to innovation in the services and products of organizations.
8. IT tools may be classified into business technologies (support to business processes, such as ERP), into function technologies (for specific tasks such as office automation tools or CAD) and into networking technologies (which facilitate interaction between people, such as e-mail, instant messaging, blogs, wikis...)
9. Quite often, the IT/IS/ISO department acts as an agent for change inside organizations due to the impact it has on the organizational processes of companies.
10. The Internet has changed the way we interact with each other as well as many corporate business models. Web 2.0 has provided a new way of working and communicating between people and companies and it has both external applications (communication, marketing, customer loyalty, listening to the market...) and internal applications (collaboration, communication...) in different areas and departments (training, HR, communication, quality, marketing and sales, project management...).
11. Company managers and administrators cannot relinquish their responsibility to IT’s and must leader three main functions in this field: helping to select the most appropriate Its for the business, making sure that professionals adopt and use these applications and ensuring they are put to proper use.
12. There are a series of decisions on IT which we cannot leave solely in the hands of the “IT Department” (“Information Systems” or “Information Systems Organization”) and these must be taken in line with the organization’s needs and business strategies.

Do you agree with me?

Material of PGPSI classes at University (Project Management)

I’ve published all the material I use in my classes at Technical University of Catalonia – UPC (www.upc.edu), teaching “Project Management and IS Planning and Managament” at the Informatics Enginerring degree (http://www.fib.upc.edu/en.html)

Pgpsi fib-upc-material trabajo-ramoncosta-2009

View more presentations from Ramon Costa i Pujol.

Article in press (iProductivity workshop in Terrassa)

Last week I had the opportunity to participate in the iProductivity Workshop that our center (Microsoft Innovation Center – Productivity Center) organized at the Commerce Chamber of Terrassa (Barcelona).

I want to share with you an article appeared in local press, then day after.

Diari terrassa jornadacct-errassa-ramoncosta

View more documents from Ramon Costa i Pujol.

iProductivity: How to present it through videos

Yesterday, I was in charge of a presentacion about ‘iProductivity Technologies” and “The new world of the work”, in Barcelona.

Preparing the presentation I made the exercise to think how I could explain it using only videos.

And this is the result.

I know it is not sufficient, but it is a good exercise.

 

Notes from the conference “The role of communication 2.0 in politics”

I attended the event, organized by ESADE Alumni, this afternoon, in Barcelona, under the title “The role of communication 2'.0 in politics” with the participation of Albert Medran (online communication advisor) and Alex Teres (Partner Director of ST SegarraTeres).

I want to share with you some notes I took during it.

I hope you will find them interesting.

Alex Teres presented his thoughts, through a different pictures, under the title of “Social networks, connected to the world”

• Humans earned a better quality of life when they discovered the fire. This was the starting of socialization. How many meetings take place around a ‘fire’!
• Printing (one to many) was a high step in the evolution of communication, followed by radio (one to many), phone (one to one), TV (mass media, evolving, now, to specialization)
• But all of these channels are not bidirectional and with a poor elements of segmentation
• Internet and its related technologies (PC, laptops, mobile phone,…) became the tool to one-to-one, agile, and everywhere/anytime communication
• No one escapes, today, to the influence and use of social networks and digital communication tools like chats
• Social networks have changed the ‘rules of game’
• Social networks have reduced  the ‘six degree connections’ theory to one or two degrees
• All of us, we are producers of content and knowledge, in a n -mass media channels
• Communication 2.0 lets us to do business, friends and politics
• It is a mandatory to be in 2.0 channel but without ‘obsessions’. There are another (and more useful, at this moment) ways to communication
• ‘Being there’ is necessary but no sufficient
• Communication in 21th century is not local nor global. It’s personal

Albert Medran entitled his presentation “From Pancarta to #Hashtag. Change, conversation and action in politics 2.0”, on which he shared different ‘bad practices’ in social networks.

• We have a lot of politics examples of these bad uses. They forget that “politics communication is a conversation”.
• Instead, as A. Medran said, there are another samples of good practices of using social networking as Ernest Benach (President of Catalan Parliament) or Raul Romeva (euro parliamentary).
• Internet is action. Internet lets us to participate in politics beyond ‘15 days every 4 years’.
• “People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night” (Darryl F. Zanuck)

Both agreed that most of politics don’t understand web 2.0. They are there because it is a fashion, because someone advised then to be there,…., but they don’t believe in web 2.0.

Beyond Cloud Computing, what is software + services

A very didactical explanation, as usual on this type of videos

Importance of Change Management in IT Projects

Are you concious about the need of change management in IT Projects? No?

CIOs do…

Top 10 CIO Strategies 2013 (From Gartner)

1. Delivering projects than enable business growth (mission enhancement)
2. Expanding use of information and intelligence in operations, products or service
3. Linking business & IT strategies and plans
4. Leading enterprise change initiatives
5. Developing or managing a flexible technology infraetructure
6. Attracting, developing and retaining IT personnel
7. Building business skills in the IT organization
8. Building a business process centre of excellence
9. Improving the relationship between IT and the business (relationship managers,…)
10. Applying business performance metrics to IT

At last, projects are the way organizations deliver change

Making friends in social media

A little of humor, extracted from a material of Julius Solaris (“The ten commandments of online communities).

Enjoy it!

Interesting videos about internet, web 2.0,…, in ‘plain English’

Maybe you already know this set of videos that explain, ‘in plain English’, different concepts around Internet and Web 2.0.

What is social media? How does www run? And twitter? Why is social media useful? How to identify a phishing activity? How does Google Docs work?

I think they are a very didactical resource.

If you don’t know these videos, I’m sure you will find them very interesting.

I usually invite my students at university and business school (www.eada.edu) to review them.

I grouped them into different categories in order to facilitate their review

INTERNET

WEB 2.0

 

SOCIAL MEDIA AND SOCIAL NETWORKING

COLLABORATION

And of course, I invite you to visit the webpage of www.commoncraft.com, the authors ot these amazing videos.

The Worst Workplace Distractions (From BusinessWeek)

Some years ago, looking for material and resources about how to improve my produtivity and become more ‘organized’, I founded an interesting article in the Business Week website (www.businesweek.com): "The Worst Workplace Distractions”.

In this article, the author, Emily Keller listed 10 situations, technologies,… that cause distractions in our workplace:

• Overcommunication
• eMail
• Web surfing
• Loud coworkers
• Attempted sabotage
• Technology glitches
• Business lunches
• The egomaniacal boss
• Flirting
• Unnecessary meetings
• Intimidation
• Birthday celebrations

As the author said “Experts say workplace distractions are so widespread that even managers who extend their workday hours cannot avoid disruptions by colleagues, which come in the form of project requests, meeting reminders, last-minute or changing demands, emotional breakdowns, and even expressions of love”

I propose to you to read the complete article in http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/07/0719_distractions/index_01.htm

Microsoft’s Future Vision about Productivity

How will the future be?

What tools will we use in order to improve our productivity?

I invite you to visit this Microsoft’s webpage: http://www.officelabs.com/Pages/Envisioning.aspx

As they say: “Take a step into the future and get a glimpse into how technology may transform the way we live and work in the years ahead. Explore some of our concepts for how leading edge technologies might be used in real world settings – such as health care, manufacturing, banking and retail – over the next 5-10 years. “

 

 

Smart communications (3) … during telephone/video conferences

Following the recomendations I published in previous posts about smart communications (with emails: http://www.pgpsi.com/2010/01/smart-communication-with-emails-1.html and on the telephone Smart communications … on the telephone (2)) in this one I will cover some rules to apply during telephone and video conferences.

Telephone and video conferences are a very important tools to facilitate virtual communications and hold virtual meetings.

So:

• Are you organizing the conference? Then familiarize yourself with the technical aspects beforehand. This way you have one less stress factor during the meeting.
• Related documents should be distributed in advance. Ideally, you have a participant at the other location with whom you can go through possibles critical or difficult points in advance.
• Even if the agenda is tight, give everyone the opportunity at the beginning to acquaint themselves with each other. Personal contact is an important basis for future positive teamwork.
• The conference should be conducted in English it the participants are multinational. Avoid side conversations in your mother tongue. This is even more irritating than during a normal meeting and, moreover, impolite.
• Make sure that only one person speaks at a time. Conciously speak loud and clear, avoing background noises.
• Minutes should be distributed within three working days (maximum), answering the quetions “Who is to do what and when?”

Smart communications … on the telephone (2)

In a previous post in this blog (http://www.pgpsi.com/2010/01/smart-communication-with-emails-1.html), I shared with you a set of ‘good practices’ proposal to improve communications wiht the email.

As I said, email is one of the most used tools in communication processes in companies and projects. And of course, the other is telephone.

In this second post, I want to cover the use of telephone in these processes:

• Say at the beginning what the call is about and which points you want to address. Give notice of longer phone calls.
• Prepare important documents. If they could be of use, send them in advance to your counterparts. What objections or questions could the person have?
• Verbaly summarize the outcome and measures at the end of the phone call. Briefly record the details in writing.
• Turn on your answerphone when absent from your desk for a longer period. If you have a business cellular phone enter the number in the ‘notes’ address book.
• When making overseas calls pay attention to the time zone where your counterpart is located. Think beforehand about the English terminoloy you may need.
• Should you have problems getting in contact with someone abroad by telephone? Try reaching a third person! Call a different person you know at the same place.

Smart communication …. with emails (1)

Communication are key in businesses, companies and project management.

And one of the more used tools, at this moment, is email. So it is very important to apply a set of ‘good practices’ in order to improve communications.

Some years ago, I had the opportunity to access the internal ‘communications code’ of a very important, and international, company (I will maintain the confidentiality of the company, of course).

In this and next posts in the blog, I will share with you, some of these rules.

Firs of all, let’s review the proposals of how to use emails in order to have a ‘smart communication’:

• Before writing an email think carefully about who is interested in the content. Keep distribution to a minimum.
• Every email should have a significant subject heading. Also include what is required of the recipient.
• Even with email correspondence, you are not communicating with computers but with people. Therefore, use a correct form of address as well as a form of greeting at the end.
• Keep your message short without being too brief. It is better to use the telephone for complex matters. Avoid unnecessary technical terms. Read through each email before sending it.
• Do you want to avoid making a bad impression? Then refrain from writing emails just in lower-case or upper-case and do not use emoticons. Spaces and puctuation make your message easier to read. Use abbreviations sparingly.
• emails are not a suitable medium to dispel disputes. Always resolve difficult issues in a one-to-one conversation or by phone.
• Spare your counterpart a tedious search by including your address and telephone number in your emails.
• Sensitive information does not belong in an email. Outgoing emails are transmitted via Internet and could be read by unathorized persons.
• Make sparing use of the tools ‘prioritization’, ‘acknowledgment of receipt’ and ‘blid copy’.
• Only send attachements when they are necessary and meaningful. If you reply to or forward an email, only attach the amount of original material required to understand your reply.
• You should reply to emails within 48 hours. If you are absent your counterpart should be informed. Activate your absence agents and enter the relevant information there.
• After a long absence, first read all received emails before answering. One or the other matter may have solved itself. To obtain a better overview, sort incoming mails according to persons.
• You do not have to read every emails as soon as it blinks on your screen. Set yourself a certain time to read and answer your emails.
• Keep in mind that there are cultural differences in the use of the medium. Pick up the phone if your message remains unanswered.
• Retain from printing emails. Store them in files instead. Check regularly what can be deleted. This saves the company money because filed emails take up storage capacity.