2014 guesses

As usual I ask myself what could happen in the new year.  

Some predictions, illusions, and overall food for thought.    

We can name 2013 the year of the tablet.  Finally tablets took off.  They are used everywhere. Supermarket chains are even offering their own tablet versions.Books stores still survive, just. Online shopping is on the increase, and offline shopping is still alive. IT job offers are on the rise, but salaries are not up that much.  

What can we expect for 2014? 

-This year can become the cyber security year.  Cybercrime appears to become more sophisticated, but so are the organisations fighting it.  Also the universities educating the future security professionals. Those of us who are still sceptical of cloud computing can see a reason not to use as much the cloud or Dropbox as we used to.  

-This year can also be the year of business intelligence (BI).  Just check the number or courses with this name.  Also the number of jobs even in the academic sector.  Time to see if it delivers, because the name and technologies associated with it have been around long enough.  

-For many businesses globalisation can come to an end this year.  It has worked well for some, not so well for others.  What could be more feasible now is to have partnerships with certain countries.  The global scenario is to be occupied by cities.  Rio de Janeiro will be on stage, but others will also follow.  Cities will need to offer good living conditions, not only economic opportunities.  My continuous concern with city centres in the UK so because I still do not see how cities can be inclusive for migrants, the elderly, and families.  

-Technology will definitely help people to continue being connected, but this year there can be many more social media communities, and Facebook might need to fight hard to remain valuable.  Time to reinvent itself? Maybe.  And Amazon? They need to offer more convenience at good prices. 

Ok, let us see what really happens this year.  Happy 2014!