Dec 16 2007
Top 10 IT Predictions for 2008
It’s that time of year again; time to reflect on yet another year gone by. It’s also time to make a set of prognostications for the coming year. Maybe a “Top 10″ list of predictions for IT organizations in 2008 might be in order.
Number 10: In financial services, the focus will shift back to cost savings. Innovation is all well and good, but when large firms are posting multi-billion dollar losses due to the mortgage meltdown, is this one really that hard to predict?
Number 9: Consolidation will continue in the software world. Enough said.
Number 8: New consumer gadgets and Web sites will drive design as a key competency. It doesn’t matter where or how you build something anymore, it matters WHAT to build in the first place. Have you looked at how the Boeing 787 is being built?
Number 7: Could this be the year that business analysts get the recognition they deserve? All the CIOs I talk with consider the hiring of BAs as now mission-critical. They’re also investing in certification, training and community programs.
Number 6: The CIO becomes a full fledged business executive. There are no such things as IT projects anymore, just business projects. The CIO needs to be technology savvy and have an in-depth knowledge of the business.
Number 5: Global sourcing reaches a new level of complexity. Off-shoring, on-shoring, near-shoring, blended models and the movement towards outsourced development (versus just support & maintenance) make global sourcing trickier than ever. Where’s the secret sauce to guaranteeing results?
Number 4: Application definition moves out from underneath the shadow of requirements management. See number 8.
Number 3: Security investments will continue to distract from competitive advantage (innovation). With bad news coming in almost daily about lost laptops, stolen data and cyber attacks, security projects will take precedence over innovation. Makes you wonder what we could do if there weren’t so many threats out there. Is 2008 the year companies finally get the upper hand?
Number 2: The pendulum swings back to packaged applications. With SOA support in full swing, more companies will try to get by with customized packaged applications. Will competitive advantage suffer? BTW: you still need to visualize business requirements when customizing packaged solutions…iRise can help.
Number 1: “Transformation” replaces “innovation” as the buzzword of 2008. Software is still the lifeblood of a competitive economy. Yet the process of defining and producing software on time and on budget is still largely broken. Just the same way that 3D modeling tools transformed whole industries such as automotive and aerospace, application simulation will begin to transform the people, processes and technology in the $500 billion global software market.
What are your thoughts? Did I miss any big ones? We can touch base at the end of 2008 to see how well I did…