Thursday, December 13, 2012

IT Trends That Will Continue in the New Year

IT trends are known to change like the weather, but some of them stick around longer than others do. This year saw the development and extension of some important trends - from investing in used servers such as Dell PowerEdge refurbished hardware to increasing PC/mobile convergence - that show no signs of slowing down before 2013. In order to stay current on IT trends, one should become familiar with the trends below. These trends are going full force right now, and they probably will be for at least another year.

Dedicating IT Work to Projects. In years past, an IT department spent lots of time just keeping the department up and running. Programs were implemented and managed in house, which meant that employees performed things like systems maintenance and software upgrades. Today, cloud computing allows companies to implement web-based programs, which frees up IT staff to focus on projects for upgrading the IT system.

PC/Mobile Convergence. Gone are the days when employees sat at their desks from nine to five just to have computer access. Telecommuting, demands for family friendly work schedules, and business travel have caused companies to invest in PC/mobile convergence. Converging PCs and mobile devices improves productivity by making it possible to work at almost any location. The key to making the convergence economical is to invest in mobile features and minute plans that employees will actually use.

Buying Used Hardware. Sine the 2008 financial crisis, the market for used servers and other types of pre-owned hardware has grown steadily. Purchasing top of the line equipment such as Dell PowerEdge refurbished servers has some obvious benefits: the hardware will be useful for years; it can be purchased for over fifty percent off the original price, and it is reconditioned to look and perform like new. If new hardware is needed, consider saving money by buying it in pre-owned condition.

Big Data. The term big data refers to mixing the structured data that a company uses for its reports with free, unstructured data such as social media streams and government statistics. Combining these forms of data can provide companies with new sales and marketing insights, and helps challenge long held assumptions about the sales territory that may be outdated. Big data can also result in informative feedback from customers about the products of competitors.

Cloud Computing. Cloud computing has steadily grown in popularity since the advent of Software as a Service (SaaS), and it shows no signs of stopping. Many companies now outsource several crucial IT needs to SaaS providers, and profit from doing so. The applications run more smoothly; the customer avoids the cost of system maintenance and software upgrades; and the applications can be accessed remotely. In the coming year, the trend toward cloud computing figures to grow even more than it did in 2012.

Conclusion

This year saw the development and proliferation of some big IT trends that will continue into the coming year. If a company has not investigated the benefits of adopting these trends, the end of the year - when old budgets are phasing out, and new ones are being planned - is a good time to do it. For many companies, dedicating more IT work to projects, implementing PC/mobile convergence, buying used servers such as Dell PowerEdge refurbished servers, adopting the big data approach to information gathering, and using cloud computing are increasing productivity and reducing IT costs.

Investing in used servers such as Dell PowerEdge refurbished servers is a 2012 technology trend that will continue in the upcoming New Year.

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