Cloud computing will continue to grow

Bearing in mind that the business environment will take some time to reach its pre-2008 levels, companies are still utilizing technology and outsourcing as post-recession strategies towards recovery. In this light, cloud computing - which has proven to be cost-effective with respect to office productivity, project management, enterprise resource management, and data management - will remain a viable alternative to its in-house counterparts. That said, companies and service providers that adopt cloud strategies will still have to contend with the challenges that are posed by scalability and security.

Open-Source will be more popular

Businesses will continue to adopt open-source applications in 2010, and there is no better sign of this course than when Microsoft opened its doors to the technology. Specifically, in late 2009, the Washington-based company open-sourced its .Net Micro Framework 4.0, and released a set of guidelines for open-source development. Moreover, as a result of belt-tightening in application development projects during the downturn, open-source will only benefit as new open-source projects will be deployed this year.

Technology will be more social

Whether we are referring to application features or a set of new practices, enterprise-wide computing will enjoy certain social aspects. The popularity of peer-to-peer collaboration is not limited anymore to Web 2.0 upstarts; in fact. established technology workers in varying business fields and consulting services will also benefit from peer-to-peer collaboration. This high level of collaboration is one of the positive bi-products of the Web 2.0 Kool-Aid, and the cost-cutting measures that replaced face-to-face meetings with virtual meetings and peer reviews.

Near-shore vs. Off-shore

While major outsourcing destinations in Asia will remain attractive to businesses in Europe and the continental United States, Eastern Europe will become an attractive alternative, particularly for European clients. Although the cost of outsourcing services to Eastern Europe may not be less than India or China based vendors, Eastern Europe boasts of a strong engineering tradition, a cultural affinity to continental Europe, closer time zones, and more convenient travel.

Shelved projects to be revived

The renewed confidence in business, albeit slow and in some cases limited, will result in less restricted budget decisions. New corporate directions will include decisions on technologies that form the very backbones of their operations. This situation, in turn, is definitely good news for IT departments heads and the whole technology field - as 2009’s shelved projects will most likely get a second chance in 2010.

However, one caveat in this newfound momentum is the need to manage corporate expectations and resources. Outsourcing is not the end-all and be-all of application development and business process management. What business and technology leaders must realize is that outsourcing is simply a strategy among many that can work towards economic recovery.

Results of consolidations and mergers

The previous year was not necessarily bad for everyone - even in the outsourcing industry. Companies that managed to consolidate their resources even went so far as to buy smaller, complementary firms – in order to establish niches and build capabilities. As a result of the combination of newly acquired capabilities, existing specialization and market insights, acquiring companies will be able to sell to the target markets of the companies that they have taken over.