2009 Canadian Technology Predictions

Yesterday Deloitte hosted their annual Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions event at MaRS Centre Auditorium in Toronto. Deloitte's Research Director, Duncan Stewart, revealed their predictions for Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) for 2009 live at this interactive breakfast seminar which was also streamed online.

Glossy PDF versions of their Technology, Media, and Telecommunications are available by clicking on the links. For our Canadian audience, the most interesting piece is the short and sweet 4-page 2009 Canadian TMT Predictions - here's the even quicker & dirtier version:

Technology predictions:

• Make every electron count: the rise of the SmartGrid > Transforming our electrical network to be as smart as our telecommunications network.
• Disrupting the PC: the rise of the netbook > They’re cheap, they’re small, they’re cute… did we mention they’re cheap.
• Downsizing the digital attic: when infinite storage is a bad thing >  Don’t hit that save key… when cheap storage ain’t so cheap.
• Social networks in the enterprise: Facebook for the Fortune > Enterprise 2.0 is affordable and no training wheels are required.

Media predictions:

• Putting print out of peril may require stopping the presses >  4 sale: 1 major city nwspaper - $20 obo (or best offer).
• Rising stars take on the megastars: Indie is the new mainstream > Be like Feist: 1, 2, 3, 4…smaller acts pack the floor.
• The dawn of WIFI radio: 10,000 radio stations in your pocket >  It lets you listen while you travel, but knows where you are.
• Mobile advertising finds its meaning: cell phone ads are the new billboards > Monetizing the screen you look at 50 times a day.

Telecommunications predictions:

• Smart phones: how to say clever in a downturn >  It’s not dumb to pay a premium for a smart phone.
• Digital communication loses its message: no email Fridays >  When a productivity tool starts impairing productivity.
• The mobile broadband accident in slow motion: traffic jams on cellular networks >  Netbooks and smartphone are chewing up bandwidth.
• One for all and all for one: no more redundant fibre optic network > Sharing the cost of fibre means more speed sooner.

Bonus prediction:

• The browser becomes the operating system: changing of the guard? > Better living through better browsers.

David George-Cosh covered the event in today's Financial Post and highlights four companies that Deloitte's Stewart predicted would benefit from increasing demand in 2009 - RuggedCom Inc., Bridgewater Systems Corp., DragonWave Inc., and Research In Motion Ltd. Check out their profiles on Techvibes below.