Originally posted at nothingbutsharepoint.com

Can you think of some services or gadgets that changed your perception about the future of technology?

I don’t think the Web is dead but I think it is evolving to its next persona. This article from Wired magazine made me believe that I’m not alone: The Web is Dead.

Do you know why having browser based applications is better than desktop applications? (for users)

I like Google docs and some of its functionality but I would use it more often if I had a client application for my multiple devices. Is it that Google and others are trying to keep us on the browser?

The trend: Less usage of Web browsers. Google business model will probably be adjusted.

Have you detected the same problems I found on the App Stores?

I personally don’t like to buy the same app for each one of my different devices. If I buy a game for iPod I would like to have it automatically for iPad and for Mac. In some cases the same app for iPhone works on the iPad. But none of them work on the Mac.

The trend: Multi platform applications integrated with App Stores. I buy an app for iPhone and I can use it on my other devices.

Is 2011 the Netflix year?

Being a faithful user of an Apple TV I can say that Netflix is an amazing service. The Christmas blizzard got me and my family on the way to Washington DC and we decided to stay in the closest hotel. We spent 2 nights there and having all the surroundings covered with snow, we had no way to use our time creatively. When I opened the Netfilx app on my iPad I was surprised to see that I had the option to continue watching Battle Star Galactica exactly where I left it a few days ago. Netflix is like the Kindle reader but for videos!

I think 2011 is the year for Netflix and their competitors.

The trend: Synchronization between devices, I start with one device and I finish in other.

Is social networking mature?

I think social networking is just starting. I can’t see a business social networking site that achieves success; LinkedIn is a network of professionals I would not say it is focused on improving businesses. Looks to me like the non for profit organizations are a perfect fit for social networking and I’m sure many will jump on board.

The trend: More social networks will appear and will integrate. Each one will have a different focus: Facebook on the individual, Twitter on the message, Kiva on the entrepreneur. Some others could focus on the business opportunity, the field of expertise, etc.

Is Microsoft too late and old?

I think no one is too late for innovation. Windows 7 returned trust to Microsoft and Windows Phone 7 announced that Apple is not the only one that can do “one more thing”. I believe 2011 will not be the year when Microsoft beats Google or Apple but I think it is the year when they integrate their software, services and hardware. Microsoft is not old, it is experienced.

The trend: A cautious Microsoft will be preparing for 2012 with well integrated services: music, video, apps, Office, Windows, Mac OS, cloud based storage.

Can SharePoint really be used for public facing applications?

Even though SharePoint is known for its great use inside organizations I believe we will soon see a real increase of its use not only for public facing Web sites but for developing multi platform applications.

SP is more powerful than ever and it is supported by one of the most diverse and active communities.

And, who said that Apps are only for public use? I’m sure that SP could be a great platform for developing corporate App Stores.

The trend: The SP community will gain more experience using SP for solving “non-traditional” requirements. The global trends outside of the LAN will definitively influence corporate IT Pros.

I left out the following:

Android, because even though many love it, I think it’s a messy OS.

WebOS (Palm/HP), because we don’t know how it is after HP’s.

Gadgets and services I like and I think will be very important this year:

• Tweetdeck, and Adobe Air application as is the NYTimes Reader. Client applications that feed themselves from the Cloud.
• Netflix, works everywhere with great quality and speed. Even though they still don’t have important movies for streaming.
• iPad, it is indeed a revolutionary product. Will Palm offer some serious competition?
• Kindle, small and powerful device. I do not need color for reading novels. For colorful viewing the Kindle app would do it great. What is next for Kindle? I can’t figure it out.
• Windows Phone 7, is promising. I hope Microsoft is taking it seriously and a tablet device would come with it instead of Windows 7.

Can you find a relationship between what Apple does and SharePoint?

I think the relationship exists in terms of strategy.

Note: When I talk about PC I mean Windows, Mac and other OSs.

During the past event where Steve Jobs launched the new MacBook Air he said a couple of important things: he believes that the new computers are the future and Apple will release a version of the App Store for Macs.

I went to the Apple Store to see how the beautiful new machines behave. My curiosity was based on the slow processors, small local storage capacity and short 2GB of Ram. The results were surprising to me.

The new MacBook Air flies. Playing a Youtube video and having all MS Office loaded, all iLife apps open the machine performed very fast. Each application had a document open and the iPhoto was full of pictures. That means something!

The PC industry went almost always with the hand of Microsoft. They coordinated the next versions of Windows and the hardware required to run it at its best. That was great for the industry. The concept was always getting faster and more powerful hardware to handle more complex software. 

Apple is making the first steps into the opposite concept. Now it is safe to have smaller machines with longer battery charge with less powerful processors. Why? because technology is allowing them to optimize the configurations and the ways we use computers are changed as well:

1. The HDD are normally slow, that is the bottleneck. New flash technology works much faster for example: iPhones, iPads, iPods and now the Mac Book Air.
2. New graphic cards are faster and more power savvy.
3. We are using the Internet for storing documents and other kind of files. The PC industry is getting “cloudy”. Attention with this note SharePoint PROs!

The success of the App Store is the envy of the Industry, now everybody wishes to imitate that success. The inclusion of it into the OSX is going to be in my opinion a big opportunity for developers. Apple is opening a new chapter and the rest of the industry will have to follow or innovate. Why is that such an important thing?

1. I miss the great apps from my iPad when I’m using my Mac. For example the experience of reading news using Pulse is much more effective than opening all the news sites at the same time or better looking than using Google reader.
2. Even if developers made such great apps for the PC environment I have no idea where to find them and losing the time searching is something I am against.
3. The Windows environment is full of great and experienced developers and the opportunity of having so many involved on a Windows App Store sounds like a great opportunity for Microsoft and partners.
4. Apps are small applications with a single need to fulfill. The experience of using a computer will be richer than now.

The full software as a service concept now involves hardware optimized for using services. That hardware must be easy to carry and independent for long periods of time from a PC.

The Web browser will lose importance (Microsoft please adapt fast). It will be better to make an App that runs good than a web site that needs to be compatible with multiple browsers. For example, I hate the slow PayPal web site but I love the PayPal App for iPhone; why not have a fully powered App instead of a slow web site?

Why would I need to use Google each day if I could search in a smaller DB of Apps in the App store?

Why would I need to search for services using Google if some apps already made that work for me? (for example Yelp will help me to find good restaurants).

If you are a SharePointer and you believe those trends are real then we have to try to ask the right questions in order to get ready to catch opportunities. In short the trends I’m talking about are:

1. App stores for multiple platforms will help developers reach customers and consumers reach solutions directly from a connected device.
2. The need of more powerful hardware will be limited to some special tasks. Powerful enough hardware will be accepted if mobility and independence increases.
3. Single purpose software will be an important choice for consumers.
4. Less browser use, less searching on a browser. More of socially supported applications.

As a consequence the online Ads industry will have to adapt.

So the questions I’m asking myself as a SharePointer are:

1. Is SharePoint a platform that can help me build single purpose Apps? - My current answer is: yes! by using SharePoint templates and Solutions. Soon by creating Apple Apps that feed from SP sites.
2. Is it possible to have corporate App stores?
3. Is SP the right technology to use for public facing Apps?
4. Is it a waste of resources to use SP as a web repository of information to feed Apps? in opposition to using free open source platforms.

Scenario:

I could see myself in a near future deploying customer side SharePoint Solutions that feed and connect with client side Apps available for PC and Mobile platforms.