Top 2011 Predictions for IT

Bob Parker, vice president of Research for Manufacturing and Retail Insights at IDC, reports that business will resume at a brisker pace but businesses will not simply pick up where they left off and go forward as previously planned. "IT productivity has increased by 30% in the last 10 years so companies are ditching their previous project plans and looking instead at lessons learned in order to write new plans that will deliver the same or better productivity increases." Enterprises will seek to improve on gains by leveraging social media, knowledge management, mobility and cloud computing. IDC analysts offered these key IT predictions:

• Spending – Worldwide IT spending growth driven by emerging markets will be a solid 5.7% as hardware growth moderates and software and services spending rebounds
• Cloud – Public and private cloud adoption will surge and cloud-driven datacenter transformation will increase
• Mobility – Huge device volumes, new form factors, and millions of mobile apps as app-capable, non-PC devices will overcome PCs
• Connectivity – 4G wireless networks will begin to increase their threat to broadband networks
• M&A – Social business software vendors will consolidate and converge and SMBs will strongly adopt social networking strategies
• Big Data – The digital “universe” at 1.8 trillion gigabytes will drive demand for cloud-friendly information infrastructure and real-time analytics
• Web TV – IT and media industries will aggressively pursue consumers to become the next “virtual” cable company including more mobile advertising

Get more information about the 2011 IT predictions at IDC.

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2010: The First Year of Double-Digit IT Growth In A Decade

IT spending finished strong in 2010 making it the first year with double-digit growth in more than a decade. According to a CRN article, the new report from Raymond James & Associates reveals that some of the 2010 growth was the result of a rebound from a weaker 2009 but it’s also better than 2008 results. "Forecasts for a double-digit increase in corporate operating profits and improving credit trends in 2011 bodes well for tech spending, as these are both leading indicators," wrote Brian Alexander of Raymond James.

In North America, IT shipments are estimated to rise 9.3% compared to last year and a seasonally strong 10.2% compared to the fourth quarter. PCs were among other strong product categories in the fourth quarter and a corporate PC refresh cycle might just be beginning. Many upgrades were postponed in 2010 because of more mission-critical data center projects.

Resellers serving large accounts grew at 18.8% in the fourth quarter compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Resellers focusing on SMB accounts grew 13.3%. Improving credit availability and new tax legislation allowing for accelerated depreciation on IT purchase will help improve large-account spending in 2011.

MANHATTAN offers a complete, single-source of personal computing solutions for work, home and mobile venues. Its expansive range of innovative products protected with a lifetime warranty and comprehensive technical support reinforce its commitment to distributors, resellers and personal computer users worldwide. For more information about MANHATTAN personal computing products and solutions or becoming a distributor, visit www.manhattan-products.com.