The year 2005 was arguably the time that technologies such as security and storage came to the fore and convergence in the form of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gained in credibility and adoption. The year also saw enterprise application integration (EAI) and mobility become serious areas of investment for both the SME and enterprise markets.
CRN has grabbed its crystal ball, consulted industry soothsayers and pondered the leaves in the teacup, and we’re predicting that 2006 will see these technologies continue to dominate end-user discussions.
That is not to say that 2006 will not have any unexpected twists and turns, but these technologies and the way they operate with each other, for example around mobile security or data encryption, mean they are well worth exploring.
Hot technologies for 2006
Mobility
With businesses increasingly needing access to information and applications anywhere anytime, the mobility space is set to be one of the more exciting niches of 2006.
For IDC’s mobility analyst, Warren Chaisatien, the fact every major carrier — Vodafone, Telstra, Hutchison and Optus — had launched a 3G network, means heated competition will also be the norm for 2006.
As such, IT resellers need to be aware of how they can leverage competition between mobile carriers themselves and mobile carriers versus wireless broadband providers.
"In the business market forget about all the exciting consumer applications like mobile TV," he says. "The killer app is speed itself — 3G is paving the way for carriers to compete with wireless operators in the business space, like Unwired, PBA and iBurst."
Another area resellers should be conscious of is the looming showdown between mobile carriers and wireless providers like Unwired and iBurst, Chaisatien says.
"Tier 1 carriers with 3G have the coverage that small wireless start-ups don’t, but not the speed," he says. "Mobile carriers also have the voice offering to supplement their offer despite the fact they are late to the mobility game."
Chaisatien says market statistics of the projected growth of 3G compared to wireless IPS is informative.
While revenues for 3G only came to $500 million this year, some $5 billion are expected in 2009. By comparison, wireless broadband is only expected to be $57 million between around 12 players. By 2009 this is expected to be a mere $349 million.
Resellers also need to be aware of the limitations and proper application of technology like smart handheld devices (SHDs) or PC data cards for notebooks, Chaisatien says. "For SHDs and BlackBerries, the wireless connectivity will continue to lag behind laptops and PC data cards connectivity by up to a year because they are based on 2.5G," he says.
Disagreeing, Vodafone business general manager, Mark Iles, says SHD, and particularly BlackBerry penetration, is likely to increase if anything in 2006. "Until now mobile email was a corporate thing but now small business guys are carrying them around," he says. "Next year, that phenomenon as well as mobile broadband will continue on as you get new players in like Microsoft with Magneto."
According to Iles, only around 1 percent of all mobile phones have email capability. But with the availability of BlackBerry connect — which allowed for BlackBerry functionality across non-BlackBerry devices — the category is expected to explode in 2006.
"The management of all these devices — even if email capability only goes up to 5 percent of all phones — is a huge opportunity for IT resellers," he says. "It is a sticky solution in that you can add managed services, asset management."
WebCentral CEO, Andrew Spicer, agrees. He says 2006 will see further innovation in from large vendors and boutique software houses offering mobile options or plug-ins for their existing software applications — such as CRM and ERP.
"Resellers should be conscious of the fact that a one-size-fits-all solution won’t work for end users," Chaisatien adds. "Both business and consumer customers will need a combination of devices and wireless technology — Wimax, 3G and Wi-Fi hotspot. The key is to be broad enough to provide a combination of solutions."
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