I am sitting here between the holidays trying to put 2011 in perspective and think of the coming year. Frankly I am having a tough time thinking what 2011 was really all about and what that means for the future.
I am having trouble drawing these into a single theme so rather than get writers block, here are a few thoughts and I welcome yours.
2011 was the year when Cloud made its first big steps to become mainstream. The early majority is already forming around the use of cloud infrastructure, services and capabilities. While it is not in the mainstream and it may not be t the right decision for everyone, few can argue that it is not ready for broader adoption and take up. Look for more in this space as
Mobility debuted in a new way in the latter half of this year as consumerism became more and more about mobility. Right now most people continue to talk about pushing information to the edge, but new business models are coming that should revolutionize the way we think of mobility. Those models will put the words ‘customer experience’ in the PowerPoint decks of just about every executive.
Security, privacy and confidentiality continue to become a scarce commodity. We are living, as Richard Hunter predicted, in a World Without Secrets. To date, security has supported a conservative approach, one favoring keeping things closed. I am not sure how much longer that will remain and when we may see the first –totally transparent enterprise.
Globally 2011 it has been a year of deadlock, but not in the traditional sense of two sides opposing each other. No the deadlock for 2011 has been one where formal systems increasingly freeze up based on acrimony, instrumentalism and limited leadership. Our formal economic, financial and political systems appear more willing to muddle through than break though the issues we all face.
At the same time, 2011 was the year where calls for change national choruses for change, in the case of the Arab Spring and discontentment in the case of unrest in the UK, across Europe, and the “Occupy” movement. People are hungry for change and say so via social media, but the consensus seems to be more around anything other than what we have now. A legitimate point and one that needs to develop in order to create lasting change.
Personally, 2011 saw the release of The Social Organization: how to use social media to tap the collective genius of customers and employees. The book has been a major project and seeing it published a major accomplishment. Another highlight of 2011 was the more than 5,200 CIOs who attended the CIO experience at Gartner’s Symposium and IT Xpo. My personal thanks to all who attended.
For IT, 2011 was a year to re-imagine technology’s role in the enterprise – a role that I believe increasingly means going beyond IT. The implications of “TECHNOOGY > IT” are just emerging across customers, markets and enterprises. More about that latter, but the fundamentals and the core value proposition of technology and IT are changing.
Finally 2011 was a year of personal and professional loss with the passing of Steve Jobs, Dennis Richie, and Ken Olson among others.
What was 2011 for you? If you were to sum up the year what would it be? Popular magazines have focused on the Arab Spring, protests and general discontent.
2011 may be the year of our global discontent, if so then so be it.
The challenge is not what was 2011, but what will we make 2012.
Your thoughts and ideas greatly appreciated.
The post 2011 – reflections and thoughts appeared first on Mark McDonald.
