IT � The Year Ahead

For my last column of the year, I was initially thinking of looking back at 2009 and its impact on the world of IT. But it seemed like a lot of other technology writers were doing that.

 

After bouncing the idea off my wife, she suggested instead that I look ahead to 2010. That felt like a more interesting topic to me. So, here’s my view of just a few trends and technologies that may be on your agenda in the year ahead.

 

Microsoft Office 2010 – Microsoft (News - Alert) is readying the next generation of Office to debut sometime in the first half of the New Year. Already available as a beta version, MS Office 2010 has garnered some promising reviews. Though the suite doesn't boast any earth-shaking enhancements, a new version of Office is always something IT admins need to evaluate, especially if you’re running an edition more than a few years old. Along with the standard desktop versions, Office 2010 will be also available as a Web-based app with stripped-down versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Should you decide that Office 2010 is right for your company and you’re eyeing a Windows 7 upgrade, you may want to tie the two together in one project. At my former company, we combined the rollout of a new Windows OS and a new Office suite one year, and it worked out well with less wear and tear on both the IT staff and the end users.

 

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 – Though Microsoft released the latest edition of its email server software in November, Exchange 2010 is something that mail admins will want to evaluate in 2010. The latest edition throws in several new and enhanced features, such as improved searching, a conversation or thread view of your messages, and MailTips that warn if you’re about to make a potential mistake. As you’d expect, some of the new features in Exchange 2010 will tie into Outlook 2010 to take full advantage of them. If you’re not already too busy, you may want to coordinate an Exchange upgrade with an Office upgrade. The requirements for Exchange 2010 are pretty strict—Windows Server 2008 64-bit (Exchange 2010 only comes in a 64-bit flavor). If you’re still running Server 2003 or an older 32-bit operating system, you'd need to upgrade your server OS before you could even test Exchange 2010. But the move to 64-bit only server operating systems is here to stay—Windows Server 2008 R2 is 64-bit only. So if your servers are still in the 32-bit world, a 64-bit migration will eventually be another item on your to-do list.

 

Alternative Office Apps – If Microsoft Office and Exchange are too expensive to purchase and too time-consuming to manage, 2010 may be the year to consider another option. With cloud computing gaining popularity, many businesses have increasingly been moving to alternatives such as Google (News - Alert) Apps for their Office suite and e-mail. Google has been intent on taking business away from Microsoft and so has beefed up its Google Apps offerings. The company now provides migration tools to help you move away from Exchange to Gmail and also lets you run Outlook as your email client with Google Apps in the background. Google also touts the cost savings of using its products over those of Microsoft. Of course, cloud computing comes with its own set of issues, such as security and reliability. But depending on the size and makeup of your organization, this may be an option worth considering.

 

Smaller, cheaper laptops – The netbook ushered in the era of the small, light, cheap laptop, a potential option for businesses that want to hook up their road warriors with these types of PCs. But with their Atom processors and typically only 1GB of RAM (News - Alert), netbooks have proven underpowered compared with more expensive portables. Now a fairly new laptop category called CULV (Consumer Ultra-Low Voltage) is catching steam by offering 11 or 12 inch displays with faster processors and more memory. As prices continue to fall for CULVs, they're definitely an option you’ll want to consider for your users on the go. I recently purchased an Acer Aspire 11.6-inch CULV, a PC that would be a good workhorse for any business user who needs something small, light, and powerful.

 

Improving Economy – Most industry analysts and executives are expecting the economy to improve next year, which could prompt IT managers to loosen the purse strings on their budgets. With a gradual increase in spending, the IT market may start to show some life again, opening up avenues for interesting new projects and opportunities.

 

Certainly, there will be more technologies and developments for you to sink your teeth into as the year progresses. And with them will come new challenges to keep you on your toes. But that’s one of the things that makes IT so fun. Best wishes for a peaceful and prosperous 2010.