Tech trends - News, Features, and Slideshows

As 2010 progressed, a shift in data-storing methods began to take shape. With 15 petabytes of new data being created every day, and the volume of data continuing to grow, the ability to simply store data in a secure and easily-accessible manner presents a challenge for IT departments and vendors.
Traditional methods of storage are proving costly, inefficient and unable to keep pace with client needs; and new, more efficient and intelligent methods of storage are beginning to take their place. The new face of storage for 2011 will look something like this:

Google's Android operating system is expected to outdo its rivals worldwide, according to a recently released statement by Canalys.
Market analysis firm Canalys said Android "will grow more than twice the rate of major competitors in 2011" even though there are some challenges, particularly in the United States.

In November, 1,500 international knowledge management experts converged on Washington DC for the world’s premier conference in this field, KM World 2010, giving attendees a glimpse into the future. Information Leadership’s Grant Margison was there as a speaker, and shares key insights on trends emerging from the conference.
2.0 – it’s not just for teenagers any more. Most organisations are now thinking of, or have systems for, managing content and allowing for project collaboration. Case studies showed how organisations have extended this effectively to include social and networking functionality. Networking lets people find expertise and sound out who can help, while the social side provides a means of informally commenting on and finding content as well as building relationships. A parallel trend is the expectation that these combinations of tools are available 24/7, at any location, on a range of desktop and mobile platforms.

In the business battle to rule the enterprise office suite of the future, Microsoft and Google both must overcome significant problems.
On Google's side, despite the Google Apps price advantage and Google's announcement that 2 million companies are now using Google Apps, various research data still shows Google is losing out in the enterprise. Google Apps adoption not only lags way behind Microsoft but also trails behind OpenOffice and even IBM's Lotus Symphony. Estimated revenue for Google Apps in 2009 is $50 million, a tiny portion of the company's $22 billion war chest.

Controlling/reducing costs, recruiting and retaining skilled staff and meeting users’ expectations have been the top challenges facing New Zealand CIOs in the past two years, IDC reports.
The difference, with this year’s report however, lies in the ranking of these criteria, as revealed in the latest Australia and New Zealand's Forecast for Management Survey.