In keeping with the theme of Florence during the Renaissance, this is part of a series of posts around what various industry influencers consider promising - or in some cases over hyped - technologies. It goes way beyond the current buzz around Web 2.0. Some technologies/tools are available today - others are still a work in progress, and applications will take a while to be commericially viable. Not all may directly influence information technology, but as we know advances in most branches of science eventually impact others.
Gartner tracks a number of emerging technologies - and uses the filter and feedback of its large enterprise user base - to position them on its "hype cycle"
While each CIO has different needs and comfort zones based on their vertical, geography, risk profile and creates his/her own version of the "hype cycle", Gartner's list is a useful, periodic guide to the innovation in the tech world.
Below is the latest one they released in August 2005 and presented at last week's ITExpo. Gartner's terminology often ends up defining various market categories - esoteric as they sometimes sound.
Click on graphic to enlarge
