HOUSTON BUSINESS REVIEW

COST-EFFECTIVE IT: PLANNING THE NEW YEAR
By Richard Sonnier

Houston Business Show Commentator Richard Sonnier, of the Information Technology Services firm Nimble Services, provides weekly information on our show about information technology issues. Mr. Sonnier can be reached at 281.445.4800 x 250 or via email.

This week I will discuss planning for the New Year.

Forecast 2005

The economy improved in 2004 and economists are forecasting continued growth in 2005. I believe we will see a return of large investments in Information Technology (IT) as businesses grow and expand. Due to Year 2000 (Y2K) concerns, many businesses purchased new IT in 1999. It was a bubble of investments as many long-lived and old computer systems were updated or replaced. Following this larger than normal IT investment came the 2001 recession so businesses have been cutting back on IT since 1999. In 2004 we saw businesses begin a new IT investment cycle and in 2005 this trend should accelerate. The 1999-era PC cannot be expected to last more than 3 to 5 years and keep up with new applications so 2005 should see continued replacement of older PC's.

Business IT Opportunities

Gartner, Inc., a leading provider of research and analysis on the global IT industry, has identifies the following IT technologies as offering businesses' opportunities and challenges in 2005 (link):

• Linux and open-source software
• Virtual PCs
• Wireless email
• Security tools
• Service-oriented web applications
• Knowledge work tools

On the hardware side of IT, I expect to see the following technologies become mainstream:

• PCI Express
• 64 bit CPU's
• Color laser printers

Recommendations

It looks like 2005 will be an exciting year for business IT. I recommend you consider replacing any PC's that are 5 years old or older and start looking at the new applications. In the coming weeks, I will offer specific ideas for many areas of IT. Next week I will discuss Linux and open-source software for 2005.