Randstad Technologies identified the top five mobility trends that businesses will implement, but a closer examination shows all five trends directly relate to business intelligence.
Business Intelligence through Mobile Channels made it on Randstad’s list of trends. Few would argue that the trend is to deliver real-time information to any device and screen size when a user needs it. If Randstad has the bead on the pulse of this trend, then we also should expect more social features to “invade” traditional business intelligence software. The staffing organization predict the collaboration will be within the BI application, and not spent writing email or attending meetings. Read More
A recent commentary calls the Microsoft Surface tablet a “misunderstood jewel.” Its value, the argument goes, lies not in being a major market competitor to the iPad, but in its potential as a powerhouse machine for enterprise use. As it seems clear it won’t really be giving Apple a run for its money anytime soon, focusing the Surface’s marketing and application in the enterprise sphere might be the best thing Microsoft can do right now, positioning its greatest strengths alongside one of its flagship devices. And the company should do so especially if it wants to see the Surface stick somewhere.
What major trends are changing the nature of the enterprise environment?
This question is constantly floated among technologists and industry experts, always looking ahead to what the workplace will look like in the next year, five years, and so on. Ars Technica recently made its definitive list, including:
- Moving mobile beyond the poor PC substitute
- The transformation of the “app”
- The social enterprise
- The IT department as integrator
We recently discussed the changing role of IT on the blog, and the other points listed are hot topics that come up often in tech industry speculation. The merits and reasoning behind each are sound.
Which do you think will have the biggest impact on the enterprise?
Predicting the future is hard, especially when you have an installed base to consider. But it’s not hard to identify the economic, technological, and cultural forces that are converging right now to shape the future of enterprise IT in the short term. We’re not entering a “post-PC” era in IT—we’re entering an era where the device we use to access applications and information is almost irrelevant. Nearly everything we do as employees or customers will be instrumented, analyzed, and aggregated.
A recent article purports that “With Nokia, Microsoft has no more excuses.” It has all the pieces it needs now to succeed or to fail. We found this assessment quite compelling. Microsoft is not going to become a “Devices and Services” company overnight. It takes a long time for a ship the size of Microsoft (and even bigger with Nokia now in tow) to correct course once the rudder is moved. Between the company’s massive “One Microsoft” reorganization, the eventually “retirement” of CEO Steve Ballmer, the integration of Nokia and the naming of a new CEO, Microsoft is going to be in a state of flux for the foreseeable future.
