4. Cloud creator. Cloud computing is absolutely the buzzword king of the technology marketplace. But CIOs are still reluctant to turn their company’s technology operations over to their Internet connection. Taking the existing business applications and adding cloud services that are always secure and always available is the business opportunity of the moment. Expect to see lots of promises and some actual delivery of these cloud services over the next couple quarters.

5. The X factor. The best thing about technology is that it is always in flux. The technologies that were going to be game-changing (client/server comes to mind immediately) often sputter and die. The technologies that are first discounted (search on the Internet, voice over IP, your college yearbook turning into Facebook) often become the dominant players. Trying to guess the next big thing is what keeps pundits in business. I tend to think that management technologies, including energy management, education management—providing distance learning and measuring achievement—and financial management for both the public and private sectors will be a big deal. But we’ll have to see how that develops.

What technologies do you think will change everything for enterprise computing? Let us know below in the comments section.