Visions for 2012

At the speed things change it’s hard to predict what will unfold over the next 12 months – but here are a few hopes and wishes the industry believes will take place.

Yahoo
Yahoo needs a home – for a decade it has fought to keep up with Google but is no match for the G-force. Microsoft declared its relief at being turned down back in 2008 offering $44.6bn – since then, alongside the recession, Yahoo has had a trail of disappointing results.

Microsoft, apparently, is still interested, so Yahoo may still be able to retire in 2012 and give up the ghost of its once great solo career.

RIM and Nokia
RIM and Nokia really need 2012 to be a good year, the last thing either needs is for their market position to fall further. Both companies claim to be back on track after the setbacks of 2011, but figures suggest otherwise.

In 2012 they need to compete by offering high-quality phones, and a larger choice of smartphones. If RIM and Nokia can succeed their respective market shares will go up, but more importantly the industry would benefit – with Apple and Android holding court, they are the last of the great players able to challenge these two tech monsters.

Floating Facebook
Is Facebook going to float on the stock market in 2012? The idea has been suggested many times.

Facebook values itself at $100bn, a ‘confident’ amount shall we say. But who knows what the outcome could be – LinkedIn exceeded expectations, whereas Groupon fell well below. A negative result for Facebook could set off the expected second dot.com collapse – let’s hope the confidence of the company carries through.

End of the Internet
2012 will hopefully not be the end of the world – though the panic behind the 32-bit IPv4 address space running out has been described as the ‘End of the Internet’.

Even World IPv6 Day last year had a minimum effect on pushing adoption. Until ISPs support it fully, customers are reluctant to change, but if customers do not demand it then the ISPs hold back.

Service providers like Google need to build a presence on both protocols and then IPv6 should be able to drive forward. We need some big overhauls to happen this year to get this procrastinating baby going.

Future IT minds
IT education needs to improve in the UK – a constant discussion throughout the past year. If students lose interest in signing up for the ICT GCSE (as figures show), and qualifications beyond, the UK will have trouble remaining a technology leader.

Students need more than Word and PowerPoint to interest them – lets get into the real digital world by teaching about the workings of the social networks and maybe the UK could find the next great technological mind.

The new East End
Silicon Roundabout is the new name for the East End of London, in terms of the many start-ups being encouraged to settle there. There is a positive feeling behind this drive from tech-lovers, to Kate and Wills and the government.

If the UK is ever to produce a Facebook or Apple, this is the secure base companies
need. In 2012 we need some business high spots – this could be a game for iPhone
(Angry Birds), new hot social sites (Foursquare), or business productivity tools like
Salesforce.

Lets see a return on those investments.

2012 Olympics
Finally – we have to mention the 2012 London Olympics. The major IT firms involved have been working hard to ensure all things technical run smoothly – the UK’s image is at stake, so technology cannot let us down.

Imagine watching Usain Bolt in the 100 metres final from the comfort of your sofa – and the picture cuts 50 metres in. PR disaster.

12 months from now, the UK will hopefully have a lot to be proud of – and the Olympics should be the crowning glory – technically at least.