I always cringe when I read other people’s predictions for the following year, and have never understood why putting yourself on the line is so appealing to so many. But this year I’m overwhelmed by a desire to join the masses, so why resist?

The following, in no particular order, are my predictions for 2009:

1. The Economy – it’s going to get a lot worse before it even starts to get better. Hence the importance of Marketing During a Recession. My prediction within a prediction is that this time next year, many will be forecasting “the beginning of the end” of the recession. Frightening times.
2. Global mobility – data is going to begin breaking free of local hard-drives or NAS devices. When users start to realise that they can access the same data on their desktops, laptops, smartphones etc. they’re going to be looking for tools that can take advantage of this. Microsoft Groove, Windows Live Mesh, Cloud Computing and friends are only the start of things to come.
3. Friendly licensing – we all know that users don’t own software, they merely purchase the right to use it. As the recession deepens and businesses and consumers start cutting back on budgets, renting software might become a lot more appealing. The software companies with the foresight to build the bandwaggon will benefit the most.
4. The UK will be cold, dark, wet and windy for almost the whole year.

Have a happy, successful and healthy new year.

Share and Enjoy