Deloitte’s global Technology Media & Telecommunications (TMT) practice first produced its yearly set of  TMT Predictions in 2007. True to form, the 2010 Deloitte TMT Predictions explore emerging trends in technology, media and telecommunications – trends that could shape the way government operates in the future.

This year’s predictions offer food for thought. Governments need a way to develop leaner back offices because of belt tightening in today’s economy. Forward-looking governments can capitalize on the technological advancements discussed in TMT Predictions to create a highly efficient and cost effective IT infrastructure.

Governments can also remake their front offices. The Web started  the citizen-centric government trend, but wireless can take it to a different level. Today’s mobile devices personify information in a way that  wired computers just can’t match. In part, it’s because a person can do pretty much anything with today’s mobile devices, and at any time he or she wants.

But the constant evolution of graphical user interfaces and wireless networks makes it easy for people to pick and choose the applications they use to access information from the Web. A new class of mobile devices, Net tablets, makes its debut in 2010, and “netTabs” could be a way for the public sector to create a different front office to serve the public in an entirely new way.

The theme for corporate enterprises this year is cost containment. But the theme for government is its role in putting the right infrastructure in place to provide the competitive environment needed to attract jobs.  Forward-looking governments need to focus on practical realities, maintain security, increase efficiency and find nimble ways to keep emerging talent on track to capitalize on technology’s future.

Nuts and Bolts

Advances in technology continue to refine the hardware of computing, from servers to desktops to portable computing devices.

It seems that for the last decade, we’ve heard that this is the year that “thin client” computing will replace desktop computing as the de facto architecture for employees. In a thin client architecture, the actual computing happens on a server, where an operating system and software applications are stored, and a “thin client” on the desktop allows a user to access the server.

But this year, an unprecedented convergence of enterprise priorities finally make the case for a thin client infrastructure on the desktop.

An emphasis on cost reduction, energy efficiency, security and personal productivity may lead to more than 1 million seats going thin client in 2010. Over the next five years, thin client may reach 10 percent of all enterprise client devices, with the majority of medium to large corporations considering the case for shifting to virtual desktop infrastructure.

Once thought to be nothing more than a pie-in-the-sky approach, cloud computing will likely see revenue growth of more than 20 percent in 2010, to roughly a US$70 billion market. This growth will focus on the consumer and small and medium enterprises (SME) market.

Large enterprise and government still remain hesitant about cloud computing, expressing concerns about security, reliability and data portability, as well as skepticism about the cost-benefits. Still, increased growth opportunity for cloud computing equals more incentive to vendors to invest in the research and development needed to refine and strengthen cloud computing product offerings for government use.

Like the private sector, governments possess a high interest in cutting costs. Government agencies often have no choice because they face mandates to reduce expenditures. Cloud computing does show real promise, but there is still a lot of hype, with over 90% of cloud services primarily advertising driven and only 6% of cloud services are infrastructure based.

On the personal computing front, tens of millions of people will likely purchase Net tablets in 2010. Reduced to the simplest terms, the devices are touchscreen tablet computers designed for Web surfing. Their new form factors, improved user interfaces and boosted processing capacity make them an appealing solution for a public that relies almost exclusively on the Internet for information delivery.

Often called “netTabs,” the tablets offer distinct advantages over smartphones and notebook computers or ultra-thin laptops. Smartphones offer too small of a screen for watching videos or Web browsing, and notebooks and ultra-thin PCs weight too much and cost more than a netTab.

It’s predicted that consumers will use netTabs to access a variety of media and information on the go. Smart governments can tap into netTabs as another way to deliver information and services to the public, who will respond to content tailored to fit netTabs. If governments can tap into the public’s increased interest in using downloadable applications, delivering “public-sector apps” to netTabs carries the potential to make the public’s interaction with government far more personal.

IT Procurement

It may be a reversal of their traditional business model, but large chip companies now aim their most advanced devices at the consumer, instead of the enterprise market.

In 2010, many enterprise technology and telecommunications purchasing decisions may be based more on the preferences of individual employees, rather than traditional IT department command and control. Witness the rise of the “prosumer” — employees who buy a phone for both work and play. This forces more and more private-sector enterprises to allow prosumer-selected phones to integrate more tightly with enterprise networks.

Should governments look at this trend and consider it in their procurement processes? Governments  rank among the biggest purchasers of technology, and government enterprises certainly rival private-sector enterprises in sheer numbers of employees. It stands to reason that IT procurement in the public sector may have to change to reflect the growing number of employees who want technological flexibility, instead of the usual command-and-control IT environment.

Though government IT departments might have to become more flexible, best practices still remain necessary. Deleting data on employees’ devices if they change jobs is still a wise course of action. Also, IT departments will need processes that reduce product churn, given the ever-changing nature of consumer sentiment.

Moore’s Law

Moore’s Law — the ability of the global semiconductor industry to double the number of transistors in a square centimeter of silicon every 18-24 months — won’t be coming to a screeching halt in 2010.

But that increased transistor density won’t likely be used to produce larger or more computationally powerful chips. Instead, it could permit the production of “good enough” chips that use less electricity, cost less money or are smaller. Governments facing a mandate to cut costs will likely show heightened interest in hardware powered by less-expensive chips.

Many large-scale technology centers, such as server farms and data warehouses, require significant amounts of electrical power. More efficient chips that cost less to purchase and use less electricity is a good thing. New equipment that uses less electricity and needs less cooling may allow governments to re-engineer data centers and warehouses that don’t require increased refrigeration or power supplies.

Green Technology

When you think of green tech, you might not think “cement.”

But consider that cement production represents about 5 percent of global emissions. As a result, several attempts have been made to re-engineer a lower carbon cement, most commonly based on combining traditional Portland cement with industrial by-products.

One possible solution is combining magnesium silicates and special carbonates, which eliminates CO2 emissions from raw materials processing. As a result of these efforts, 2010 may well see the world’s first laboratory-scale, carbon negative cement manufacturing plant, which would deliver significant reductions in global CO2 emissions.

Though talking about a common building material may seem out of place in technology predictions, the sector will continue to play a vital role in solving a variety of issues, including global warming. Government can play the muse to the building sector’s efforts to get greener. Governments across the world have very publicly expressed their commitment to play an active role in cutting emissions by setting regulatory incentives, and punishments, for the private sector.

This year promises much in the way of change. Let’s keep our eyes on what those changes could mean to how the public sector does business.