Major Information Technology Trends - Essay Example

Various organizations such as Gartner and Juniper have listed some of the top technological trends that are leading in the field of information systems. This section will briefly explain two major trends from the two firms

Battles Related to Mobile Devices
According to Gartner, the arrival of Windows 8 made battles related to mobile devices one of the top technological trends for the years 2012 and 2013. Gartner claimed that the conflict among the vendors to have full attention from the consumers had forced IT managers to be heterogeneous. It was predicted that by the year 2013, mobile phones would overtake personal computers, mostly among those workers whose jobs required them to do so though a few still require PCs. The rise of mobile devices signaled the end of PCs as well as Windows as the only corporate platform. This means that by 2015, it is highly likely that Windows 8 will be lagging behind Apple and Android, reducing Microsoft’s share (Miller par.4).

Growth of Mobile Money
Mobile money has attracted immense attention and related services have been diversifying and growing rapidly. According to Juniper, the environment in Asia and Africa has led to increased uptake of mobile money-oriented services, leading to the development of other services such as product tracking (Koetsier par. 3).

Implementation
In successfully adopting mobile devices in organizations, it is important to first understand some of the drawbacks such as loss of data and insecurity. In this case, there is a need to provide a strategy or framework for mobile users to work securely, including the use of applications with business-oriented data at prescribed entries to heighten cost savings. Consequently, this will unleash innovation and easily solve business-related problems. Another way of effectively adopting mobile devices in businesses is by heavily investing in IT. If the IT staff cannot support the devices, it is essential to outsource external support to ensure that users have someone they can turn to in case of challenges. This means that there should be a Mobile Device Management that has clearly defined policies, scope, as well laid out software solutions.

Regarding the adoption of the money market, most nations in Africa, for example, Kenya and Tanzania have successfully launched the system (Jain and Griffith 372-373). As an IT leader, there are various ways to ensure effective implementation such as by allowing continuous marketing campaigns to educate people on its advantages, how it is used, and to allow feedback. There should also be solid relationships with mobile network operators to make sure that the users are comfortable with the agents that are handling their resources. Finally, in launching a mobile money-related service, there should be a clear proposition for the intended users. This means that they must identify the remittance streams to comprehend where and why people are sending money.

Where the selected trends can fit into the enterprise
The use of mobile devices and mobile money has been heavily used in banking and transport enterprises. It is now possible for users or employees to shop online or pay for their transport expenses or taxi rides using their mobile phones. With mobile devices, employees working in the banking industry can serve their clients, access voice mails, and emails, receive calls, answer questions from clients, and utilize the bank’s designed software to serve consumers appropriately. On the same note, mobile money helps users to access their bank accounts, deposit or send money, and pay for their air tickets or taxi/ bus rides (Aykin 484-485).

Conclusion
It is evident that the world of information systems has been constantly changing; hence, impacting ways through which procedures and processes work and how the employees think. Trends such as the use of mobile devices and mobile money have been widely utilized, mostly in banks to increase cost savings. Therefore, to ensure successful implementation, it is important to have strong relationships with the operators and agents, invest in IT, as well as increase campaigns and advertisements. Read More