Extracts from this document...

Introduction

The Prominent Trends in Information Technology By Chuck Revenew CR0005253 COSC 13L1-N Fall Term For the purposes of this paper the term Information Technology (IT) will encompass the aspect of compter systems hardware and software in both the business world and the home computing world. This paper will explore and supply information across both vertical markets. The first exploration will deal with home computing trends; including what is new, where consumer interest lies and what is predicated for the future. Secondly the business market will be discussed under the same criteria, again what is new, where business interests lie and what is predicted for the future. A summation will then close the subject of the Prominent Trends in Information Technology. IT is moving so fast that it is difficult to predict what the future will hold based simply on recently marketed products. This is especially true in the home market because of the needs and whims of the general consumer public. In essence one cannot look at only what the product producers are bringing to the market, but must also consider the general publics hot spots or what is going to appeal to the market the most. The general consumer public is comprised of a very broad base of needs and wants, therefore for companies to predict what the consumer wants and what will be hot and what will not is more difficult in the general consumer populace than that of the business world. ...read more.

Middle

If this argument is accepted then these buyers have two computers in the home and as noted from the Internet usage chart above, frequently use their computers to access the Internet. So the general consumer public wants mobility, has multiple computers at home and has frequent usage of the Internet. This points to the wireless network, a hardware tool that has recently gained a large acceptance by the home user. Why is this so? If you have multiple home computers, a DSL or cable modem for Internet access and want mobility without having to run wires all over the house for connectivity - wireless is hot. The main parts needed to set up a wireless network consist of: � High-speed Internet access � At least one computer (laptop or desktop) � An 802.11b Wireless Access point � An 802.11b connection device (PCMCIA, CompactFlash, or USB depending on the device you want to connect) For the purpose of this paper we will consider the wireless access point and the connection device or PCMIA the future trends items for IT. What is a wireless access point and what do the numbers 802.11b stand for? The 802.11b is a wireless standard, 802.11b is an extension to 802.11 that applies to wireless LANS and provides 11 Mbps transmission speed. ...read more.

Conclusion

These systems use encryption and other security mechanisms to ensure that only authorized users can access the network and that the data cannot be intercepted."8 A VPN is a compelling business solution because they provide the highest end-to-end security at hard wire speeds with sizable cost reductions compared to a private network. This is why the VPN's are so popular and are growing in numbers yearly. To quote an article in WEB Host Industry Review, "worldwide firewall revenues totaled $1.7 billion in 2001, while revenues for VPN hardware totaled $1.3 billion. The company predicted the firewall and VPN hardware markets would reach $3.8 billion and $2.9 billion, respectively, in 2005."9. A VPN is a money saver needing very little oversight once it is deployed. After all a large portion of the logical network is the Internet itself. So financial projections through the year 2005 and growth in usage and security strengths make the VPN a hot business trend in the coming years. In conclusion, what is hot in the home and business IT world? In the home it is the laptop computers, wireless routers and PCMCIA cards, all offer increased mobility over the previous home computing environment. In the business IT world the VPN or Virtual Private Network is hot and predicted to get hotter because of its' ability to provide dependable and high-speed connectivity without the heavy financial cost of a hardwired private network. ...read more.

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our University Degree Electronic Media Studies section.