New research highlights trends in technology market

A new report from Deloitte has highlighted what it believes are the key trends in the market for telecommunications, media and technology as part of its annual TMT Predictions research project. Amongst other things it predicts a slowdown in the uptake of Bring Your Own device polices, the enduring appeal of the laptop,  a change in the way we protect our data and devices, and the annual market for smartphones hitting one billion units for the first time as 4G takes off in the UK.

Bring Your Own Device

One of the trending topics over the last couple of years for workplace managers and IT departments alike, the report claims that any company that has not already implemented a BYOD policy is less likely to do so now. Although the report goes on to acknowledge that around half of the companies in the Fortune 500 list have already adopted a formal approach to this ostensibly informal practice.

The end of strong password-only security

The report claims that a growing loss of faith in password protection which can result in millions of pounds worth of losses, the decline of confidence in internet commerce and potential damage to the reputations of businesses, menas the issue of security is being rethought. Deloitte found that around 90 per cent of user-generated passwords are vulnerable to hacking, including those deemed strong by IT departments.

The PC is not dead

Predicting the demise of any media always leaves you a hostage to fortune so while strong sales of tablets and smartphones have led some to predict the end for the personal computer, Deloitte suggests that over two thirds of the work people do is still carried out on laptops and computers and that less than half of the 30m tablets purchased by businesses around the world have replaced the traditional devices. The report believes that tablets are actually replacing paper, especially for functions such as stock control, asset management and order taking.

Smart phones ship one billion units

The report predicts that this year will see one billion smartphones shipped for the first time, bringing the total in circulation to over 2 billion worldwide. However it goes on to say that the way they are used will stratify between those who take advantage of their full functionality and those who use them primarily for calls, texts and photography.

4G to surge in popularity

With the UK’s first operator, EE, now operational and the bandwidth auction taking place during 2013, firms will entice customer’s with 4G’s improved performance including faster emails, multi-media functionality and instant messaging. However, the report also suggests that despite smartphones and mobile infrastructure improving all the time, around a fifth of people with a smartphone never or rarely connect to the web.