When selling an enterprise technology solution, you must communicate how your solution is going to help the customer solve a problem or an opportunity. These technology trends were identified using current business drivers within the company and what they’re saying they need to fix or expand in 2010. These are areas will not only be important next year, but over the course of the next few years, and they will have a profound impact on how businesses operate and where they spend their IT budgets.

1. The Top 10 Enterprise Technology Trends That Will Shape 2010 Technology Spending

3. PROFIT.

4. Remaining on top of the latest advancements in technology is crucial to keep a: COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

5. The top trends in IT spending for 2010 are:

6. CLOUD COMPUTING

7. Cloud computing: In 2010, Boeing will be talking to cloud providers like Microsoft and Amazon about where they can further leverage cloud computing. For example, the Boeing online store was developed in-house, but is currently hosted by Amazon.

8. GREEN IT

9. Going green with your technology: Hertz has expanded company-wide efficiency initiatives utilizing the Hertz Improvement Process; their own version of Lean/Six Sigma. They are eliminating wasted time and resources from car and equipment rental operations and administrative functions, and cascading “best practices” throughout their global organization. In June 2009 FedEx was still building it Colorado Springs data center. They are upgrading their existing information technology operation in Colorado Springs and expect the project to be completed in late 2010. They anticipate the facility will qualify for LEED certification when it’s completed.

10. MOBILE DEVICES

11. Cell phones and laptops: In September 2009 FedEx began deploying 100,000 Motorola MC9500 handheld devices. They will continue to deploy the devices over the next few years.

12. VIRTUALIZATION

13. Virtualization: Cloud computing and virtualization using commercially available solutions are at the heart of Morgan Stanley's long-term IT strategies, according to David Reilly, the firm's CIO of Enterprise Infrastructure. Server and desktop virtualization are top priorities in 2010.

14. SECURITY COMPLIANCE

15. Security compliance: Aetna is constantly working to identify best practices, implementing process improvements and listening to their customers. They are employing new technologies to help them better serve their customers and members. In November 2008 started providing members with the capability to transfer data contained with their carrier-provided PHRs to Microsoft’s HealthVault platform. Proctor and Gamble is working on their global cyber-security initiative. In August 2008 Procter & Gamble selected products and services from IBM’s Internet Security Systems (ISS) division to help.

16. IT COST OPTIMIZATION

17. IT Cost Optimization: Boeing has been working to consolidate their data centers. They began the project with about 60 data centers and are down to six as of December 2009. Their final goal is to have three, which will create significant cost reductions in the power drain. As part of his effort to lower IT costs and increase IT efficiency, Ehrlich and his team at Chevron are in the midst of consolidating 100 global data centers down to 50, as well as reducing the number of applications running across those data centers and virtualizing hundreds of servers.

18. OUTSOURCING (and Insourcing)

20. Software as a Service (SaaS)

21. SaaS Boeing is evaluating the potential use of SaaS within the company. CIO John Hinshaw said, “I’m a strong fan of Salesforce.com and we are using it today and working on some CRM apps for commercial airplanes. For business service applications it has real promise. It really comes down to speed to market and the time it would take to develop internally.” Over the course of 2010 and some of 2011, Morgan Stanley has planned software-as-a-service initiatives. The firm already uses SaaS for e-mail archiving, some human resources processes and some sales support and it recently awarded a contract to an on-demand software vendor for trouble ticketing. "This shift is the first of what we expect will be many traditional to on-demand transitions over the next 18 months," he says.

22. E-COMMERCE

23. E-Commerce E-commerce platforms are a vital growth engine for FedEx. For example, FedEx uses Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping technology to provide dynamic mapping capabilities that help customers find locations faster and with more refined information.

24. GRID COMPUTING

25. Grid computing: An IT project in 2010 is the growth of Morgan Stanley's grid computing environment, which includes the engines that the firm uses to conduct risk and analytic computations. CIO of Enterprise Infrastructure Dave Reilly notes, "We set ourselves a goal of being able to provide 18,000 to 20,000 grid servers at a remote computing site that will dramatically reduce our server cost."