2011 Predictions for the Informed

1. As you may know, Windows 7 is Microsoft’s best-selling operating system ever and to no surprise it is also their best OS ever.  So, plan all your instructional projects on the W7 OS as it will stay with as for a while. However, keep in mind the following two predictions.

2. MiMo stands for Microsoft Mobile and the Windows Phone 7 will prove to be a player.  Market trends and sales numbers are proven promising for the company and the future of MMOS (Microsoft Mobile OS).   Still a long way to go in order to catch up to the iPhone and Android, but numbers place the MMOS in third just behind Android and iPhone—nonetheless, WP7 is a solid product to consider.

3. Microsoft’s move to “the cloud” will continue. In this context, the “cloud” is the encompassing term for more and more computing functionality moving to the Internet, instead of being done on your computer at home. Microsoft has cloud versions of Office and many other products (think “Google Docs”, where you the documents are stored remotely, on a Google server, rather than your local hard drive). Those offerings will get more sophisticated in 2011, and more usable.

It’s not smoke, it’s the Cloud

Image source: http://infreemation.net/cloud-computing-linear-utility-or-complex-ecosystem/

I am going to go a little off topic with “The Cloud”, mainly because I have been flooded with task requests from employees at work to train them how to get around SharePoint.  I also had an insane amount of homework from school and a lot family events I needed to attend.

The first time I head the “Cloud” term was in a BBC article about Open Source back in 2006.  It got my attention. I am a late adapter to the whole social network thing, but a techie, beta tester, for Web 2.0 applications.  Eventually I caved in, I started using FaceBook.  I had to, the social network world gravitates around Web 2.0 trends.

THE CLOUD

Software-as-a-service, SaaS. Wikipedia defines software-as-a-service (SaaS) as “a model of software deployment where an application is hosted as a service provided to customers across the Internet.

Let’s say you have a growing small business, and your IT infrastructure has reached its limit. You are then confronted with two gaps. First, figure out what you need in order to keep your network going while implementing a scalable, cost effective solution.  The second gap to fill is to find the person or people that can do this for you. Your shock comes when find that the upfront cost was probably not projected as a expense in your books.

Image Source: http://exacterm.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/saas.jpg

The Solutions: SaaS or as my friends call it, look up to the cloud!

What SaaS does is: it takes away the customer’s burden of software maintenance, ongoing operation, and support. In other words,  the service eliminates the need to install and run the application on the customer’s own computer. You cost becomes a monthly, yearly expense.  With the right advice, it can be a tax deduction to your business as a recurring expense and not an asset.

Cloud computing opens up innovative ways to use rich-media capabilities, such as video integration into presentations, data tracking, etc.  A direct single source point made possible by Web-Based application that can dissipate information quick.