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CostEffective IT: Planning the New Year
Cost-Effective
IT: Planning the New Year,
by
Richard Sonnier
Houston
Business Show "Advisor" Richard Sonnier, of the Information
Technology Services firm Nimble Services, Inc., provides weekly
information on our show about business technology issues. He can be
reached at 281-445-4800 x250 or rsonnier@nimbleservices.com.
This week I will discuss planning for the New Year.
Forecast 2005
The economy improved in 2004 and economists are forecasting continued
growth in 2005. I believe we will see a return of large investments in
Information Technology (IT) as businesses grow and expand. Due to year
2000 concerns, many businesses purchased new IT in 1999. It was a
bubble of investments as many long-lived and old computer systems were
updated or replaced. Following this larger than normal IT investment
came the 2001 recession so businesses have been cutting back on IT
since 1999. In 2004 we saw businesses begin a new IT investment cycle
and in 2005 this trend should accelerate. The 1999 era PC cannot be
expected to last more than 3 to 5 years and keep up with new
applications so 2005 should see continued replacement of older PC's.
Business IT Opportunities
Gartner, Inc., a leading provider of research and analysis on the
global IT industry, has identifies the following IT technologies as
offering businesses' opportunities and challenges in 2005 (link):
- Linux and open-source software
- Virtual PCs
- Wireless email
- Security tools
- Service-oriented web applications
- Knowledge work tools
On the hardware side of IT, I expect to see the following technologies
become mainstream:
- PCI Express
- 64 bit CPU's
- Color laser printers
Recommendations
It looks like 2005 will be an exciting year for business IT. I
recommend you consider replacing any PC's that are 5 years old or older
and start looking at the new applications. In the coming weeks, I will
offer specific ideas for many areas of IT.
Next week I will
discuss Linux and open-source software for 2005.
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