2012 Prediction: Cloud Sherpas

I’d like to begin my prediction for the upcoming year by taking a look back at 2011. One of the most remarkable technology trends was the explosive growth of a new computing form factor: tablets. Annual sales growth of tablets continues to exceed 100%, and it is useful to understand what is driving this trend.

The explosion of tablet-based devices has been fueled by the user experience: all-day battery life, instant on and simplicity. Rather than attempt to adapt a “fat client” operating system like Windows, Linux or OSX, modern tablets utilize lighter solutions based on mobile operating systems.

The trend towards new computing platforms and form factors is still in the very early stages, but we are witnessing the first steps of the biggest disruption to traditional PC market in the last 20 years. The technology behind this success begins with the lightweight operating system. This means the majority of the “applications” are powered in the Cloud. These new applications are things like social networking, photo sharing, digital news, and email.

So the first of our predictions is growth of these next generation applications, like Google Apps and Google+, will become mainstream; they will become the standard for organizations of all sizes. Early evidence of this is demonstrated by acceptance within large brand name companies like General Motors. Businesses will continue to move away from traditional on-premise systems and place their trust in the cloud. Some of you may have spent time reading the August Gartner report which echos what we’ve known for some time:

• Cloud messaging overall will grow dramatically in the upcoming handful of years.
• This isn't just about providing messaging solutions, but also about displacing legacy tools like Lync, Sharepoint, Office and even more in the enterprise.
• Social has become seamlessly integrated into business, as Google+ married social and business.

The second predication is that new computing form factors like Chromebooks will begin to take off. While tablets will continue to dominate as content consumption devices, Chromebooks will gain acceptance based on their the ability for content generation while still providing the core qualities of a tablet; battery life, speed and simplicity. Both of these trends will continue to fuel growth of desktop virtualization solutions that bridge the gap between these new devices and legacy desktops.