The Gartner Group constantly releases studies about technology. How cool would it be to review the trends in technology and issue research on it? Very cool job.

They released a new report on the top ten technologies for 2009. Here's their list:

1. Virtualization
2. Cloud Computing
3. Servers: Beyond Blades
4. Web Oriented Architecture
5. Enterprise Mashups
6. Specialized Systems
7. Social Software and Social Networking
8. Unified Communications
9. Business Intelligence
10. Green IT

An interesting list, but some of the areas of focus have a poor track record for increasing revenue. IT should be focused on helping the business management teams increase their revenue. 

There are a couple that are extremely intriguing. Those would be:

Cloud Computing: This is an emerging field where vast cost savings could be had for the bold. Imagine replacing your server farm with a few DS3s. While the industry is in its infancy, you have to imagine that Amazon isn't going to be the unchallenged leader forever. There are two phases that need to happen. 1) Applications in the cloud need to become widespread. Sites such as Zoho are making this a reality. 2) Server infrastructure needs to migrate to the cloud when the management tools become as easy to use as they are now. 

Business Intelligence: I think this one gets tossed around every couple of years. The time is right for this to come around. By using a wiki system in combination with a custom search engine, you can put your entire company's collective knowledge online. The important thing is to find unobtrusive updating processes. 

Green IT: The area of environmentalism is usually misguided, but in the IT environment it can lead to direct costs savings and even a potential of increasing revenues. It is a stimulating area to contemplate. 

Will any of these really be a breakout technology? I'm unsure, but I do like the forward looking possibilities.