Who is Mr Prediction in Tech?
This year was expected to be so full of unprecedented upheavals that getting it right would be tougher than ever.
Maybe that means it’s a good time to check what someone who many feel deserves that title was predicting for this year, at the end of last year. Watch the video, listen to the predictions, then decide how well he’s doing so far.
Here’s some background on Mark Anderson from his website:
Mark Anderson is the CEO of the Strategic News Service™ (SNS) and its consulting practice, Technology Alliance Partners (TAP), and is chairman of the Future in Review (FiRe) Conferences.
SNS was the first subscription-based newsletter on the Internet and is read by technology industry leaders and investors worldwide.
TAP, founded in 1989, provides trends and marketing alliance assistance to countries and companies interested in the convergence of telecommunications and computing.
What he predicted for 2010
“This whole year is one where things that seemed kind of slow moving and innocuous and benign, suddenly become very risky and exciting and I think we’re going to see more fun and more change and more opportunity and more threats for everybody in the tech world this year than we’ve all experienced, probably in our lifetimes”
Mark R. Anderson, Strategic News Service, talking to Arik Hesseldahl, Bloomberg BusinessWeek
The FiRe Conferences are international meetings of leaders in technology, global economics, bioinformatics, and policy, for the purpose of generating an enhanced understanding of future markets.
Mark holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from Stanford University and has taught at Stanford, Harvard, the University of Washington, and other universities.
He is the founder of two software companies and of the Washington Software Alliance WSA (now the Washington Technology Industry Association?) Investors’ Forum, Washington’s premier software investment conference.
A member of the Merrill Lynch TechBrains Advisory Board, Mark is also an advisor and/or investor in Space Exploration Inc. (now Spacex?), Voyager Capital, Mohr Davidow Ventures, Ignition Partners, and others.
Mark is the founder and chairman of SNS Project Inkwell, a global consortium of vendors dedicated to the accelerated deployment of appropriate technology onto pre-university desktops.
He is the founder and chairman of Orca Relief Citizens’ Alliance, a nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation created to reduce Orca whale mortality rates.
He also chairs the Foresight Foundation [there are several bodies this name might refer to, one called global foresight is one that mentions his name], a nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation dedicated to harnessing technology to create dramatic improvement in the human condition.
Mark regularly appears on CNN-TV, National Public Radio, and “Wall Street Review,” and in the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, and the New York Times.
He writes the occasional “Future In Review” technology column for FORTUNE magazine and is a frequent speaker at conferences around the world.
I have to agree with Mark Anderson’s prediction on 2010 regarding “platform wars.” Google has really upped the ante for a couple of years now and they have pretty exciting applications for consumers. Also, I’m quite pleased to have my own prediction coincide with Anderson’s regarding pad PCs or tablets. I’ve done my research, being a tablet enthusiast, and Apple did open the flood gates for this technology. Now even non-PC producers and developers are getting into the pad/tablet PC development game, such as Samsung, Nokia and other new players.
Platforms wars are already raging…
http://www.businessinsider.com/jeremy-allaire-platform-wars-2010-6
Nokia is running behind Symbian OS, while Android using Google apps..
Yes indeed Krishan. But for me, aside from usability of these applications and hardware from different competitors, another significant factor is availability. Sure, Apple may have the edge now in terms of its recent development (i.e. iPad) but it’s quite expensive, and its competitors are not only trying to create a better performing device, but a more affordable one also.
Regarding Samsung, Nokia etc’s getting into tablets, it was Apple that started the war first. It moved from iPod to iPhone, while Nokia and Samsung were already communication equipment manufacturers! Now, it is their compulsion to compete with Apple when it entered their realm…
Well, I was referring to tablets and pad PCs. Apple may have started the whole touchscreen craze, be it in communication devices or PCs, but others, especially Google, are quickly catching up.
I also don’t agree with Mark Anderson’s prediction about cloud computing’s future due to security risks associated with it. Though it poses such risks, still the benefits of using Cloud Computing are far more appealing, and security issues can be tackled by applying cyber-security measures.
Here is a survey that endorses my point of view:
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1623/future-cloud-computing-technology-experts
Hey Krishan, I was wondering if there’s any specific detail from that article that you’d like to quote to better explain “cyber-security measures?” I’m sure that would be a great help, especially to those who are cloud computing enthusiasts like yourself.
I think cyber-security measures would mean several things:
having to give a username and password before accessing shared documents is one. Another would be needing a username and password in order to log into web-based software products which seem to be getting more and more popular in the workplace nowadays. This is partly due to the fact that you can access them from any PC and means that you are not stuck in the office. It also makes it easier for people to work “on the go” as they are able to access their work software while travelling, etc.
Yes Debbie, these are significant ways to ensure security and privacy among users. In this generation where information can be accessed just about anywhere, protecting and ensuring one’s privacy is of primal importance.
Thanks Debbie for your comments!
However, while in cloud computing, trust is also a big issue. Corporations and Government entities won’t be willing to share their databases with Cloud Computing providers!
Though there is no specific piece of information speaking about cyber-security, we can find more information from other resources on how security issue can be handled in Cloud Computing environment. However, people still can believe in cloud computing as mentioned in article, “Some respondents observed that putting all or most of faith in remotely accessible tools and data puts a lot of trust in the humans and devices controlling the clouds and exercising gatekeeping functions over access to that data. They expressed concerns that cloud dominance by a small number of large firms may constrict the internet’s openness and its capacity to inspire innovation – that people are giving up some degree of choice and control in exchange for streamlined simplicity.”
Here is a resource that describes a few strategies to combat security issues in cloud computing.
http://www.avanade.com/Documents/Research%20and%20Insights/practicalguidetocloudcomputingsecurity574834.pdf
Nice article find Krishan. Hopefully these issues get addressed with people’s security and privacy in mind, not just the monetary gains from development in cloud computing.
You actually pointed out a downside aspect of using cloud computing, and I think it’s a pretty valid concern. The internet is one arena where people can exercise their choices, preferences and control, which makes cloud computing something that people would really be enthused about. Simplicity is great, but not when it limits you in that respect.
There are many other downsides of cloud computing too, which is hampering its growth, and they are even more severe than just security. The bulk bandwidth required when cloud computing becomes popular also seems a dream!