Gratuitous 2012 Predictions

Happy New Year!

Now, I kind of hope that the Mayans were wrong about it being all over this coming December.  

And since I don't know anyone who has actually ever exchanged thoughts with a Mayan, I'm not convinced that its a great idea to make short term plans that accommodate the end of days scenario.


That said, entrepreneurs and their investors do in fact look to the tea leaves (as interpreted by folks far more intelligent than your humble correspondent) for some guidance in plotting strategies to profit handsomely by reecommending emerging business trends. 

So, in an effort to remain relevent with those that choose to follow my musings, here are a few of the more intriguing predictions for 2012 that I’ve come across:

Choose your "-ism" (Opt or Pess)


A group comprised equally of 500 VC’s and VC-Backed CEO’s shared their 2012 predictions on funding, exits, the economy and politics in a survey (Venture View 2012) mounted by the National Venture Capital Association and Dow Jones Venture Source.

Will 2012 be the Year of the Enterprise Software Startup?

The early commercialization of social applications and platforms, big data management and analytics, and business intelligence began a trend in 2011.

A marked decline in the number of employees being issued company-owned BlackBerries has been attributed to RIM’s widely disruptive services outages. Fortune 500 employers appear poised to embrace the “bring your own device to work” concept. But there is precious little enterprise software (i.e. order processing, accounting and customer relationship management applications) currently available for SmartPhone users.

While the CIO community’s faith in the cloud took a hit last year with days-long outages at Amazon and other cloud-based behemoths, Aaron Levie, CEO and co-founder of Box.net admits to still having his head in the cloud.  In his New Year’s Day TechCrunch post Levie envisions cloud-based solutions taking the decidedly boring enterprise software category mainstream.


Forget Tablets – 2012  The Year of the UltraBook?

Last May Intel launched the Ultrabook initiative (the Xeon E5 processor) supporting slimmer laptops that offer longer battery life and faster boot-ups-rivaling the MacBook Air and the iPad.

At least 30 new UltraBooks are set to debut at the 2012 CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas later this month.

Information Week has a preview.
UltraBook News has a few early reviews.

Caveat Emptor: The tech journals are already speculating that Intel will introduce a newer, faster Xeon processor (code name: Ivy Bridge) this spring.


Don’t Fence Me In!


Geofencing SmartPhone apps create a digital perimeter around a location -- which could be a building, school or an entire city -- that enables merchants or others to keep tabs on mobile phone users who cross an electronic boundary. Some apps focus on personal security – others allow marketers to push “location-sensitive” ads to SmartPhoneMercury News.

Shivering ICE's Timbers?


Was Radio Luxembourg the legendary 60's “pirate ship” for “rock-starved” Brits the inspiration for the son of a Cuban Immigrant?

Max Marty’s Blueseed (likely a pun) aims to address the visa dilemma for foreign entrepreneurs with Silicon Valley aspirations. SilconValley.com has details