A New Dawn, A New Day, A New Decade for IT

There is no disputing that 2009 was a year that will not be soon forgotten. Just this week on the front page of the New York Times, three people were profiled who remain out of work and are borrowing money from family or cashing out some of their retirement account to get by a little while longer as they wait for the market to rebound.

In the Information Technology market, there are a number of companies doing the same: borrowing, cashing out or just holding tight. But, I believe we will start to see a real recovery in 2010 and the IT industry will then forever work within a new economic reality.

The ultimate result on the IT market will be positive. While IT spending forecasts show some growth in the year ahead, they will remain lower than pre-recession levels. Gartner, for instance, most recently predicted 3.3% year-over-year IT spending growth for 2010. This frugal spending environment is surely prompting CIOs to think differently about the way they acquire and deploy software. Times like these are also when we see the greatest innovations in technology, because we’re all forced to work harder and produce better products, technologies and services.

I’ve given this some thought as I’ve worked with my team at Jaspersoft to plan for the next year and wanted to share my top three predictions for 2010. I will offer one new prediction a day, for the next three business days, before going on a short blog leave until the New Year. In fact, I’m saving the boldest prediction for the first week of the New Year, when I’ll share with you some of my picks for open source companies to watch in the coming year.

So, tune in right here to get your daily dose (for the next three days). And as always, your comments are encouraged.

Brian Gentile
Chief Executive Officer
Jaspersoft