CMR announces top IT trends for 2014 in India

CMR released its MarketVision for InfoTech 2014 highlighting the key trends for 2014 in India.
Dual OS laptops and tablets
As desktop PCs move towards All-in-One form factor, notebooks will continue to rule. Touch Laptops and Hybrids are going to have a good run, especially during the festive season purchases. It is clear that Windows 8 is very slow to gain a large volume of software that can compete with IOS or Android’s Apps stores. So expect to see Windows tablets or some hybrids as well, that will also have Android on them that taps into Android apps for use on Windows devices.

3D Printers
Although 3D printers are in the discovery phase with consumers, if the pricing can be alluring, consumers in the design/manufacturing segment could be tempted to adopt them as 3D printing can save a substantial amount of time and money, while developing prototypes. It will still be a small market in 2014. It will be a play of 3D printer assemblers vs the code developers which will facilitate the bridge between CAD/CAM language and the printers.
Internet of Everything going mainstream
Almost every major tech company is now focusing on the Internet of Everything. Basically this means that all tech devices get some form of connectivity, become smart, and can be connected to all types of devices and to the cloud. CMR expects that in 2014 the industry will come up with a better definition of IOE and how this will practically impact business, consumers and education.
Social Media Advertising gaining prominence
We have been subjected to mainly Facebook ads over the last year; however Twitter have now joined the social network advertising and it is quite obvious others will follow suit. Online banner ads will continue to be ignored by social users compared to news feed and promoted post adverts.
Emergence of Chinese Handsets as a dominant market force
Two of the top ten smart phones sold will be Chinese. Mobile phone penetration in India has resulted in traditional mobile phone players getting squeezed and being unable to compete with Apple and Samsung at the high end, as well as struggling to differentiate from aggressive new vendors, most notably Chinese brands. Chinese vendors have the opportunity to leverage their position and expand their presence in Tier 2 & Tier 3 towns.
Tablet PCs have the potential to become mass market device
Tablets would become mass-market devices within the next two to three years. Consumers would drive segmentation of the market away from one-size-fits-all models toward different devices working at distinct price points. A growing desire for choice in functionality, price, ecosystem supported by attractive combinations of size and other features are what customers would be looking at while deciding on their choice of devices.
BYOD extending the scope of mobility
While enterprise mobility is still in its infancy, BYOD will find takers. This would be possible with the growing comfort level with BYOD and its associated mobile security solutions which will allow the trend to become more commonplace in enterprises. The rate of adoption will further be driven by new smartphones and tablets that hit the market, consequentially attracting the attention of employees who are continuing to drive the consumerisation of IT.
Continuous growth in data will lead to growth in Big Data
The explosive growth of data will continue to be the biggest concern for the IT industry in the coming year as Big Data begins to take centre stage, creating challenges and opportunities for the industry. The explosion of unstructured data and mobile applications will generate a huge opportunity for the creation of business value, competitive advantage, and decision support if this data can be managed and accessed efficiently.
More businesses will become software companies
With every product or service getting wrapped in IT, a lot of apps will find their home in the cloud. The net effect of the ongoing shift to IT-wrapped products and services is that IT spend will increase as IT shifts from back-office support to frontline value delivery.
SaaS will become one of the preferred ways for buying new applications
SaaS has done well in the last year in categories such as CRM and collaboration. Gaining confidence from that, solutions once available only on premise will find their way into cloud. However, large enterprise suites will still not be available in a true Cloud mode, or at least won’t find too many takers.
More SMBs will use virtualization
Reduced capital expenditure offered by virtualization will have a significant impact amongst SMBs. As more businesses learn about its capabilities and savings, virtualization will see increased adoption among IT departments in the majority of companies upgrading their infrastructure.
Rise of location based Business Intelligence
Given the complementary natures of BI and GIS, the adoption of geographic analysis to enhance business intelligence is expected to grow. Through the fusion of these two enterprise technologies, organizations will be able to visualize and analyze key business data through “smart” maps to discover patterns and trends that are otherwise overlooked with traditional BI tables and charts.

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