Technology is the main factor behind transformation of the way people do business these days. Going back 10 years, business communication was still paperwork and e-mail was still emerging in its beta phases. Today, we are offered of free over-the-net communication through various e-mail service providers. With the advent of net accessible mobiles at affordable rates, business communication too has reached mobile. Here’s what we should expect in the coming days –

• Internet is now mobile

A few years back dial-up connections were the norm. But development of technology is perhaps an effort of human zeal. Optical fibres soon made it possible to provide broadband connections to every home. But the story did not end in Broadband. Over the air internet accessibility became cheaper and smarter with development of 3G. Today’s mobiles and smartphones are capable of providing high speed internet access. In 2010, the technology is likely to be more developed for video on demand and live streaming through mobiles.

• CDs are out, SDs are in

I still remember skipping lunch boxes so that I can afford one audio cassette at month end. Soon audio cassettes were history as Compact Discs were developed. Soon DVDs enjoyed the fame with more storage space. With development of mp3 format and audio compression technologies, data storage became easier than before. After many legal implications, mp3 and audio compression techniques won the battle. So did the human zeal towards technology development. Now a little Secured Digital (SD) flash drive, popularly known as SD card, miniSD card or microSD cards are capable of storing more data than what a CD could have done. In fact, today’s audio players are capable of reading SD cards and recently companies started retailing digital music through microSD cards. So start grabbing cards, and you have 1000 of music tracks in your purse while on travel.

• Human Beings are social animal

We all loved the era of video games, but probably were not so glued like we are to Farmville in Facebook. Virtual world has always intrigued us, but whats more fun is that now we are connected to a real person at the other end. Think about it, before a company hires you the HR manager is sure to know your personal traits better through LinkedIn or other social sites. Chances are a slight deviance on your social profile, might as well lose your chance of working in a better organisation. In 2010, the trend to social computing is likely to enrich itself through different modes.

• The Internet is about to change a version

The decade saw a sudden growth of social computing and community development. Popularly known as Web 2.0, this level of internet helped in transformation of a huge knowledge base all throughout the planet, from one human being to another and through a series of hierarchical network chains. 2010 is about to see the emergence of Web 3.0, where this huge information base is collected and arranged semantically. Today we can use the same user id and password to log in flickr or yahoo mail. Things like single source log in and easy website interaction will be more common over the web in the coming year.

• You can hear a story

e-books have not been so popular, mostly because it’s not easy to read a story on screen as it is on paper. Year 2010 will enjoy development of some reader software, which means it’s easier to get yourself a personal reader, who will present your business presentations and might as well make you remember itinerary of the next travel schedule.

• The future is Open

Open Source a platform is what business minded enterprises turn to. Delivering fast performing, rich internet applications at cheaper rate, means more interaction and huge client base. In process it increases reliability and generates more business. From IDEs to Operating Systems like Ubuntu, average consumer has more option to choose from. Adobe Flex, Ruby on Rails and other development platforms provide the chance to develop your own applications easier than before. 2010 will witness development of these open source trends.

• We are all under one cloud

Where do you keep your documents, so as to access them from anywhere in this world? Google Docs is the answer. Cloud computing is based on technologies like virtualisation, automation, open standards and Web-based computing, forms the platform to expectation from Web 3.0. AmazonS3, AmazonEC2, Heroku and CloudFoundry are some of the growing cloud computing platforms that business houses are turning to. Providing scalable services at cheaper rate to the mass is the new mantra of the coming decade.

• Films on the Go

Entertainment can’t be behind if technology is fast developing. iPods and iPhones have already provided the platform to listen to your favourite tracks or catching your favourite flick on the go. The very start of 2010 witnessed the virtual world called “Pandora”. 2010 is likely to get a sneak preview of the future of 3D. Technology has devised methods to view movies in three dimensions. In coming days the development will concentrate towards home entertainment. So you can view a dinosaur live in your bedroom, sometime sooner.

• Wireless Business

Size Zero is in, as far as technology is concerned. Along with business class phones, notebooks have also transformed into netbooks and ebooks. 2010 might witness wireless business communication through netbooks, ebooks and forthcoming iTablet.

• Meet, Decide and Work – instantly

Perhaps the strongest impact will be development of tools for easier collaboration. More tools like GoogleDocs and Google Wave are to follow in 2010. The set of tools will enable partners and clients to communicate and collaborate seamlessly with employees of an organisation. So expect members of a single meeting connected through mobile, ebook, desktop phone and personal computers. 2010 will also see more integration between computers, mobile phones, smartphones and notebooks along with video communication and internet telephony.