Forrester Predictions for 2013 (and Counterpoint)

If Gartner is the leading IT consultancy, Forrester is #2 or 3. (See this comparison of several of the consultancies.)

Forrester likewise identifies technology trends and predictions for 2013. The full report of same, like Gartner'sown research, costs money (check to see if your library/institution has a subscription). This piece -- "Forrester's top 15 emerging technologies to watch" --  in ZDNet summarizes the repor and outlines how the firm categorizes fourteen technologies as 1) end-user computing technologies, 2) sensors and remote computing, 3) process data management, and 4) infrastructure and application platforms. 

(The graphics in the ZDNet piece aren't rendered well)

The counterpoint comes from the iconoclastic tech curmudgeon John Dvorak in PCMag.com -- "Forrester's Top Tech Trends Point to Stagnation" -- 

The research firm has identified 15 top technology trends to watch, but they are all completely bogus. 

As my regular readers know, I love a good list of things to ridicule. Generally speaking, these lists show up in December and January, and they tend either to predict the coming year or lament about the past year.

These sorts of lists are decided differently than all the bogus lists of top 100 executives, which tend to be pure speculation dreamed up by editors over lunch.

So, I was pleasantly surprised to see a list in February that I could comment on: Forrester's top 15 emerging technologies to watch. With a list this long, in an era where there are probably only two or three technologies to watch, I figured this would be worthwhile to tear apart.

Let's begin.

See the link for his article.