Based on my interactions with partners, colleagues and customers, I predict that 2010 will be the year of the information technology “mashup.” Personal and business technologies are blending, as are communication and media consumption.

 

The line between people’s personal and work lives is growing increasingly thin – not only with regards to time, but now when it comes to tools as well. I know many people who take business calls and check work e-mail on their personal phones. Listening to personal music downloads or online radio channels at work is very popular (Nemertes Research estimates that on average, people play an hour and a half of online music at work each day). And I’m one of the masses who uses my home computer to catch up on business while watching TV at night. As more people embrace this “always on” work style, it’s only natural that there’s some crossover where work is done on personal equipment and vice versa.

 

Taking this to the next level, I’ve heard of some workplaces where employees are opting to forgo company-provided PCs in order to work on their personal Macs, despite the fact that their IT department does not provide support. As these groups of Mac users grow, companies are forced to consider whether the equipment they are providing is really meeting the needs of their employees. A recent article in Fortune noted that Cisco is now offering MacBooks as a laptop option to workers. Having this choice has increased employee satisfaction – about a quarter of those given the Mac option have taken it even though tech support from the company is limited.

 

Reinforcing this idea of an IT mashup, there are several trends and tools on the way in 2010 that will meet these changing demands.

 

 

Whether for Web conferencing, “desktop video” or leisure video viewing, analyst firms including IDC (News - Alert) and Creative Strategies site video as a major factor in workplace information sharing. Particularly in a down economy, where cost-saving is paramount, video adoption is growing. Nemertes Research says that more than half of companies today are using Web conferencing and another 15 percent plan to. According to Nielsen Media Research, two-thirds of Internet video is viewed during business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

 

A recent Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) report found that the room-based and desktop video conferencing markets are expected to expand at CAGRs of 17 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively. The report says that widespread use of video in the enterprise is just a few years away.

 

In addition to conferencing, professionals are using videos in other capacities, including viewing work-related tutorials and demos as well as sharing corporate news and promoting products on YouTube (News - Alert). The Google Channel on YouTube is a great example of how a business has really embraced video as a medium. Of course, YouTube also provides an outlet for personal entertainment whether at work, at home or on the go (via mobile device). Even if you’re searching YouTube for business purposes, it’s easy to get distracted watching the latest Saturday Night Live skit or a cute dancing baby. Perhaps that’s why a December 2008 Frost & Sullivan survey found that 41.2 percent of respondents view leisure videos on YouTube at work.

 

All of this evidence suggests that video will be the next technology that really changes the way we communicate. When making an investment in a video platform and related tools, businesses will want to ensure that there will be an effortless adoption across the enterprise. To smooth the transition, IT departments will need to identify products that reliably help users communicate and consume video in a clear, efficient fashion.

 

The role of voice communication is undoubtedly shifting in our work and personal lives. Sure, there are people who still talk on a traditional telephone for multiple hours every day, such as call center employees, help desk workers, etc., but for the majority of people, other tools are becoming more prominent. Frost & Sullivan predicts a 20 percent to 25 percent decline in traditional phone use over the next five years due to the prevalence of VoIP, IM, smartphones and other emerging technologies.

 

Even in the personal sphere, e-mail, Facebook (News - Alert) and Twitter are replacing the telephone as a way for family and friends to keep in touch. Beyond that, social and business communication is blending on these platforms, as many use them to make connections to colleagues and work associates and to publicize business news.

 

IM and texting are certainly popular methods of communication today that do fill a specific purpose and use – that is quick and simple questions and answers or notifications. But none of these alternatives will be able to replace voice entirely. Even a business conversation initiated over IM might need to be escalated to voice when concepts become too lengthy or complex to type out. When that happens, users don’t want to switch devices, which is why voice integration with IM, Microsoft Communicator, Google (News - Alert) Wave and other platforms is critical at the user’s desk and on his smartphone.

As the personal and business realms blend along with communication and media consumption, there will be a number of new tools and technologies that reach the forefront in 2010 which will allow individuals to take advantage of the mashup trend.

Unified communication is high on the radar of many due to its ROI and collaborative benefits. Aberdeen Group found in a recent survey that 72 percent of “best in class” businesses that have implemented UC reached ROI in 12 months, and most have also experienced productivity benefits in terms of being able to more rapidly and reliably reach and respond to contacts. With stats like that, it’s no wonder that UC is so popular!

 

As adoption of UC grows, the PC will become more central to voice communication. Along the same line, smartphone adoption will grow as more individuals seek to access the Internet and other computer data on the go. Frost & Sullivan surveyed knowledge workers and found that 27.4 percent own a smartphone and 27.4 percent plan to acquire one within a year. Of that population, 44.3 percent need their smartphone to have music capabilities and 19.3 percent need their smartphone to support videoconferencing. This data really underscores the fact that people are using their phones for a mix of business and personal tasks.

 

Devices that can accommodate the switching back and forth between business and personal use as well as media consumption and communication will be at the forefront next year. When evaluating an investment in this area, it will be important to select devices that are simply designed and highly usable to ensure employee adoption.

 

IT staffs should keep their eyes on the horizon as new technologies come forward that will let employees more efficiently share and consume information at work, bringing with them related business benefits.