The technology industry is evolving into a high-performance, security-driven mobile marketplace to accommodate the business world's need to wirelessly access and manage information, according to a panel of industry experts in the 2001 Technology Trends Annual Report.
This year's theme, "Powering the Future," focuses on technologies and trends that will take us into the next generation of computing, Internet and communications. Technology Trends is a quarterly publication from the Technology & Communications practices of Deloitte & Touche LLP and Deloitte Consulting LLC.
"The technology and communications sectors may not be recession proof, but they are hardly down for the count. Technology affects everyone and is too vital an expenditure for enterprises to defer for long," said Mark Evans, managing director of Deloitte & Touche's Technology & Communications Group based in Silicon Valley.
"Whether it's new power sources for handheld devices or better methods for delivering broadband Internet access, technology is a strategic linchpin in the world's most successful enterprises."
"The economic downturn won't stop business users from moving to wireless handheld devices and expecting 24/7 connectivity to allow them to access, manage and manipulate information, as well as communicate without any boundaries," Evans added. "Technology Trends examines challenges and opportunities resulting from this shift in technology and other trends affecting our use of technology today and into the near future."
Predicting the Future: "High-Powered, Highly Secure and Mobile"
The future use of technology in corporate America is examined by a panel of industry experts, who predict that the evolution to wireless will drive all facets of the technology industry.
Michael Mace, vice president and chief competitive officer of Palm Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif., said, "The biggest evolution will be the flowering of handheld computing. We expect handheld devices to be more popular than PCs in five years -- not because PCs will go away, but because more people need to access and manage information than need to create it."
Palm (Nasdaq:PALM) is a pioneer in the field of mobile and mobile and wireless Internet solutions and a leading provider of handheld computers, according to IDC (December 2000).
According to Dan Niles, managing director at Lehman Brothers in San Francisco, the move to a wireless business world requires more powerful processors.
Niles said, "An array of communications applications is driving demand for high-performance chips that can process signals at faster data rates. The high volume availability of low-power semiconductor components is also a prerequisite to deliver on the promise of continuous connectivity through wireless mobile devices."
To deliver on this demand for higher performance at lower power with a lower cost, the semiconductor industry is developing innovative, non-silicon materials technology and novel manufacturing techniques. Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH), an innovator in global finance, focuses on serving the financial needs of corporations, governments and municipalities, institutional clients, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide.
With wireless communication increasing rapidly over the next five years, security will also evolve. "Companies that adopt data privacy and integrity, strong authentication and non-repudiation in wireless environments, ensure that their assets remain safeguarded," said Art Coviello, CEO of RSA Security in Bedford, Mass.
RSA Security helps organizations build secure, trusted foundations for e-business through its two-factor authentication, encryption and public key management systems.
According to Coviello, biometrics -- a means of identifying individuals with iris scanners, hand geometry devices and voice recognition -- is a promising user authorization alternative. "Biometrics not only provides high elements of security, but is extremely convenient," he added, citing that before biometrics becomes more commercially viable, the security, integrity and privacy of the user's biometric template need to be more tightly secured.
Along with managing information differently, there will be a lot more information to manage, according to a study by the School of Information Management and Systems (SIMS) at the University of California, Berkeley. Sponsored by EMC Corp. of Hopkinton, Mass., the study says humankind will generate more original information over the next three years than was created in the previously 300,000 years combined.
James B. Rothnie, EMC's senior vice president and chief technology officer, said, "In the next five years, the amount of globally deployed bandwidth will grow by a factor of 1 million. Storage itself will be less expensive and more plentiful."
EMC Corp. (NYSE:EMC) is the world leader in information storage systems, software, networks and services, providing the information infrastructure for a connected world.
With such a high volume of information traveling the Internet, Kerry McKelvey, chief operating officer of WorldCom Broadband Solutions, said: "The demand for high-speed Internet access will continue, and the residential market will expand significantly as people demand home access speeds comparable to their access at work.
"However, there won't be a single solution that is right for everyone. It will depend on where they're located and the applications they're using. The right solution could be fixed wireless, fiber or DSL, and installation has to be fast to meet customer demand."
WorldCom Broadband Solutions is based in Jackson, Miss. WorldCom Broadband Solutions is a division of WorldCom (Nasdaq:WCOM), a communications company that provides facilities-based and integrated services for e-business and e-commerce.
In addition to the panel, the topics examined in the 2001 Technology Trends Annual Report are divided into three key sections, including:
-- Cutting Loose: Tools for a Mobile World -- WAP, all-in-one devices, Bluetooth, Wireless Internet for cars, and privacy issues related to wireless phones and location-specific advertising
-- Coming of Age: New Technologies Test the Market -- Interactive TV, consumer use of bar codes, Smart cards and fuel cell batteries
-- Channeling the Net: Adding Value to the Network -- P2P, new life for ASPs, print media outlets' response to online media, petabit routers to increase Internet traffic speed and online voting Issues Examined by Today's Leading Technology Luminaries
Designed to assist in the building of innovative, successful technology and communications companies, Technology Trends examines topical issues and offers opinions by industry leaders and analysts. Among those featured are (in order of appearance):
-- Jerry Hallmark, manager, Motorola Labs' energy technologies lab
-- Patrick Gelsinger, vice president/chief technology officer, Intel's Architecture Group
-- Naresh Lakhanpal, national practice director of products and services, Deloitte & Touche's Technology & Communications Group
-- Eytan Adar, research scientist, Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center
-- Bill Burnham, General Partner, Softbank Venture Capital
-- Simon Ellis, platform marketing manager, Intel and chairman, Bluetooth SIG
-- Warwick Ford, chief technology officer, VeriSign
-- Mary Joy Scafidi, Sr. Research Analyst, IDC
-- Marc Schwarz, principal-in-charge, Deloitte Consulting's Global Outsourcing Services
-- Rob Enderle, vice president of desktop and mobile technology, Giga Information Group
-- Philip Asmundson, deputy managing director, Deloitte & Touche's Technology & Communications Group
-- Rudy Santoro, partner/national industry director for media and publishing, Deloitte & Touche
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