Industry expectations for 2013

Growth and development in the IT sector is the overriding expectation in 2013. The reliance of the economy on eCommerce is set to continue, with the boom in mobile devices increasing the ubiquity of internet use across all sectors.

In the face of a flagging high street, more and more businesses will look to improve IT operations. This Christmas bluntly demonstrated the power of eCommerce: retailers who failed to diversify online quickly enough, such as HMV failed. Those with a slick online operation, such as John Lewis and Debenhams, prospered.

As businesses jostle for position online, there will be a renewed focus on business intelligence as investors seek to learn more about their markets. Online rankings will become increasingly important to all businesses. The recent launch of Facebook’s Graph Search has yet to flex its muscle as a potential Google competitor, but will no doubt have implications for all business listings. Plus, the growth in social marketing is set to continue after big shifts by the search engine last year altered the way it ranks pages.

Technology will continue to diverse and specialise this year, with increased focus on connectability and internet enabled gadgetry becoming ever more commonplace. Near Field Communication may also take off this year, as simplifying consumer transactions begins to gain credence after the success of contactless debit and credit transactions made headway into public acceptance in 2012.

Likewise, cloud computing will cease to be a buzzword, but will impinge on everyday computing activity as businesses continue to optimise their capabilities, while document sharing and remote working become more commonplace.

Modis MD Roys Dungworth: “2013 is set to be a growth year for tech experts in every sector. With almost every industry demanding improved computing capability, online operations are a priority. IT experts will be in high demand this year. With the UK pinning its economic future on the tech industry more specifically, it’s an optimistic outlook for those with the right skills to take advantage of growth in this area.”