Consumers will be driving the move to ubiquitous computing, where mobility and connectivity will be key for consumers in 2011.
This is the view of Danie Steyn, Intel's World Ahead programme director for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa.
“While consumer spending is expected to be cautious, the range of devices and capabilities are expected to exert considerable appeal, drawing buyers to trusted brands,” says Steyn.
In the year ahead, Steyn expects the consumerisation of IT will continue as individuals bring personal devices into the workplace and use them for work.
“Tablets, smartphones and netbooks will increasingly find a place on their desks next to company-issued equipment,” notes Steyn. “That will drive a blurring of consumer and enterprise devices as employees seek to use personal solutions for work productivity.
“Of course, with the consumer thrust, there are implications for business; virtualisation, anti-theft technology, remote management and security will be needed to support these devices as they move from home to work.”
digital set-top boxes.
In addition, Steyn explains that Moore's Law, which states that the number of transistors placed on an integrated circuit doubles every two years, will continue to hold in 2011.
“New innovations and manufacturing techniques will introduce billions of new devices with higher performance, more features and reduced power consumption.”
According to Steyn, manufacturing processes are moving from 45 to 32 nanometres and right down to 22 nanometres. He points out that this means that as the devices powered by these processors become increasingly capable and easy to use, and as the cloud continues to advance, the consumer revolution will persist.
“Exciting new experiences await in 2011 and beyond, in which everything you want your technology to do just works.”
According to research firm Gartner, by 2014, 90% of organisations will support corporate applications on personal devices. The firm states that employees will be the main driver for adoption of mobile devices.
“IT is set to enter the next phase of the consumerisation trend, in which the attention of users and IT organisations shifts from devices, infrastructure and applications to information and interaction with peers.
“This change in view will herald the start of the post-consumerisation era,” says Gartner.
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