Technology Forecast: 2001–2003 is the latest in a series that has been published annually by the
PricewaterhouseCoopers Technology Centre for more than ten years. It provides an overview of major areas of information technology (IT) and forecasts significant developments in those areas over the next one to three years.
This Technology Forecast emphasizes the emergence of the mobile Internet—the use of handheld devices and wireless communications to access a variety of network-based services—whose impact during the next five years is expected to be as great as the Web’s during the past five years. This Forecast analyzes the characteristics of "killer" applications for the mobile Internet and discusses the mobile applications already in use or likely to become available in the near future. The book covers the devices used to access the mobile Internet—both handheld computers with wireless network connectivity and Web-enabled mobile phone handsets—as well as other emerging computing platforms, such as consumer Internet access devices and digital set-top boxes for Internet-enhanced access to cable and satellite television.
The Forecast provides extensive coverage of deployments in wireless communications networks, particularly second-and-a-half-generation networks, which provide always-on, packet-switched data communications capabilities, and third-generation networks, which will eventually provide high-bandwidth services to mobile subscribers. Our Forecast also discusses the wide variety of software needed to enable the mobile Internet, including Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) browsers and gateways, as well as alternatives to WAP; markup languages for the mobile Internet; wireless application servers; and software tools for creating location-based services.
This Forecast also covers major developments in semiconductors and traditional computing platforms, including the release of new microprocessors based on Intel’s IA-64 architecture and of new versions of Windows and Linux, all of which will allow low-end servers to increase their inroads into the enterprise computing market. The book goes on to consider the continued enhancement of wireline communications over both fiber optic and copper cabling, as well as the ongoing shift of carrier networks from circuit- switching to the Internet Protocol. Among the software trends discussed are the use of distributed component architectures, such as CORBA, Microsoft’s COM+, and Sun’s Java 2 Enterprise Edition, to build networked applications; the increased emphasis on enterprise application integration middleware as a means of linking packaged applications from multiple vendors; and the rise of enterprise information portals that provide a single point of access to an organization’s knowledge resources.
The book also includes five interviews with senior executives of key vendors and network operators associated with the mobile Internet:
*Alan Harper, group strategy director for Vodafone Ltd.
*Kurt Hellström, president and CEO of Ericsson
*Don Listwin, CEO of Openwave Systems
*Dr. Keiji Tachikawa, president and CEO of NTT DoCoMo
*Paul Wahl, president and COO of Siebel Systems
The PricewaterhouseCoopers Global Technology Centre, located in Menlo Park, California, provides PricewaterhouseCoopers engagement teams and their clients with analysis and evaluation of current and emerging information technologies. The Centre, part of PwC’s Global Thought Leadership organization, has a staff of researchers, technology analysts, and advisors with extensive experience in advanced applications of existing technologies and knowledge of the potential uses of emerging technologies. The Centre provides information and services that give our firm and our clients a competitive edge in the marketplace.
Using the research embodied in Technology Forecast, Paths to Value (a new model for understanding value creation in early-stage companies), and other original thought leadership publications as references, Technology Centre staff deliver on-site presentations on technology trends to clients of PricewaterhouseCoopers around the world. These presentations supplement our executive seminars and consulting services, which focus on information technology and business strategy issues.
The Centre also provides technology due-diligence and competitive analysis of industry trends and information, computer, and communications technologies. Similar services are provided to European clients by Menlo Park Europe, a London-based group of technology analysts who work closely with the Global Technology Centre. These services reduce uncertainty and allow our clients to better gauge the level of risk associated with a specific investment.
