2009 To Be Breakout Year For Enterprise Social Networking: Deloitte

The most significant emerging technologies will be those that deliver cost-efficiency, contribute to environmental sustainability and drive new forms of personal and business collaboration. The arrival of netbooks as a competing PC platform, the explosion of social media networking for both business and personal use and the rise of smart grid technology are among the emerging themes unveiled today in Deloitte’s 2009 global predictions for the technology industry. “In 2009, low-cost netbooks are going to disrupt the PC industry; social networking will no longer be just for the teenager, but a mandate by the CIO; and smart grid technology will represent the biggest and fastest growing sector in green tech, perhaps even in the entire technology market,” said Eric Openshaw, vice chairman and US technology leader for Deloitte LLP. “The most significant emerging technologies will be those that deliver cost-efficiency, contribute to environmental sustainability and drive new forms of personal and business collaboration.” Making Every Electron Count: The Rise of the Smart Grid In 2009, electricity is expected to account for over 16 percent of all energy used. Although the global economy may make public spending on smart grid unlikely, governments may choose to offer tax incentives as well as consider how smart grid technology can reduce non-domestic energy dependence and help make the grid more secure.