The future of IT: Insider view

Gordon Frazer, managing director, Microsoft UK:

“In five to 10 years, your average computer is going to make today's desktop look like a pocket calculator. It won't be 50 per cent more powerful or 100 per cent more powerful, it will be 5,000 to 10,000 per cent more powerful. This power is unlikely to help you type a document or an email any faster, but it will increasingly open up an experience that is unique to each individual.”

Although the idea of personalised technology is not new, I think we are seeing it finally becoming a reality. For it to do so, three things that have needed to happen are beginning to emerge: there needs to be a natural interface between humans and computers; there needs to be a unified communications platform; and computing needs to be pervasive. The leap in computing power we will see in the coming years can enable all three.

A combination of these three technology evolutions means, independent of device, I can choose how I communicate with friends, colleagues or communities. It will mean speech, gesture and surface based computing will be an everyday reality and it will mean technology will respond to me personally. It will anticipate and help fulfill my needs because it understands me based on thousands of actions and inputs over time, not just because of the last command entered.”

Sam Schillace, Google engineering director and founder of Writely:

“The evolution of computing until now has missed one fundamental fact: people are critical - rather than a barrier - to the progress of technology. Increasingly, we want the computer to get out of our way and let us interact as quickly as we can with others.

The internet is inherently social. It brings back dialogue, the exchange of ideas and debate - but on an infinitely grander scale than before. We don't just type, store and print documents anymore - we want to share and collaborate in a manner which transcends time and geography.

We are now reaching the point where the internet is becoming the platform for how we work and play. Cloud computing - or software-as-a-service - marks a shift from the old world order where packaged versions required constant upgrades and maintenance, to a new ubiquity, flexibility and accessibility of the browser.

Of course there are challenges - providers have to put security at the centre of hosted services if businesses are to become comfortable with the model. But the simplicity of the browser means web applications and development tools are accessible to ordinary people and not just computer technicians. The potential of what is to come should excite anyone lucky enough to work in the industry today.”



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