IT and Society: Technology, Media and Telecommunications predictions

“Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu” International Group which provides Technology, Telecommunications and Media services has released an annual report entitled “Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions 2011”.

The report reads that over the last 10-15 years the Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) sector has changed markedly. Industries have been rapidly developing, what was accompanied by the change of data carriers, improved access speed to information resources, increased priority of secure access, further specialization of companies involved in this sector. Another key trend over the last 10 years has been convergence: the technology, media and telecommunications sectors are now more interconnected and interdependent than ever before.

Deloitte predicts that in 2011 more than 50 percent of computing devices sold globally will not be PCs, meaning that the era of the PC is over. Unlike the 2009 netbook phenomenon, where buyers chose machines that were essentially less powerful versions of traditional PCs, the 2011 computing market will be dominated by devices that use different processing chips and operating systems than those used for PCs over the past 30 years. However when looking at the future of computing devices, 2011 may well mark the tipping point as we move from a world of mostly standardized PC-like devices, containing standardized chips and software, to a far more heterogeneous environment.

Deloitte predicts that by the end of 2011 no operating system on smartphones and the new generation of tablets will have a dominant market share. Some will have more than 5 percent share, but no single player will have yet become the de facto standard. Being the dominant operating system provider for non-PCs would be a tremendous prize, however, a clearly dominant OS seems unlikely to emerge in 2011.

Deloitte predicts that in 2011 more than 25 percent of all tablet computers would be bought by enterprises and that figure is likely to rise in 2012. Although some commentators view tablets as underpowered media-consumption toys suitable only for customers, more than 10 million of the devices will likely be purchased by enterprises in 2011.

Consumer demand for tablets is forecast to remain strong, however enterprise demand is likely to grow even faster, albeit from a lower base.