Gartner, Inc. has highlighted the key predictions that herald long-term changes in approach for IT organizations and the people they serve for 2010 and beyond. Gartner’s top predictions for 2010 showcase the trends and events that will change the nature of business today and beyond.

These predictions were selected from across Gartner’s research areas as the most compelling and critical predictions. The trends and topics they address this year speak to the changing balance of power and focus in IT. Gartner analysts said last year’s themes of shifting ownership and revenue flows continue, becoming more pronounced and more sharply focused. As the macro-economic environment adjusts to a new balance between supply, consumer demand and regulation, the focus of this year’s top predictions has expanded to encompass shifts in the way that users interact with IT.

“As organizations make plans to navigate the economic recovery and prepare for the return to growth, our predictions for 2010 focus on the impact of critical changes in the balance of control and power in IT,” said Brian Gammage, vice president and research fellow at Gartner. “With greater financial and regulatory oversight for all IT investment decisions, few organizations will be unaffected.”

“For many organizations, the economic and budgetary challenges of 2009 drove important changes in the general governance of IT investment decisions, accelerating the trend toward greater accountability and transparency,” said Daryl Plummer, managing vice president and chief Gartner fellow. “With a strong emphasis on business-case justifications, chief financial officers (CFOs) assumed a more active role. Although most organizations enter 2010 preparing for a return to growth, this financial oversight is unlikely to be lifted anytime soon. For IT leaders, greater fluency in the language of business has become a requirement.”

Gartner’s top predictions are intended to compel readers to action and to position themselves to take advantage of coming changes, not to be damaged by them. Gartner’s top predictions for 2010 and beyond include:

By 2012, 20 percent of businesses will own no IT assets. Several interrelated trends are driving the movement toward decreased IT hardware assets, such as virtualization, cloud-enabled services, and employees running personal desktops and notebook systems on corporate networks.
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Mobile commerce (m-commerce) is basically an extension of e-commerce on the mobile phone which enables consumers to make payments for goods and services directly from their mobile phones. This gives the consumer the benefit of making payments from anywhere without the hassle of physically being present at a store, standing in a line or turning on a PC to transact online.

Motorola, Inc. has broadened its enterprise mobility portfolio to better enable retailers to streamline operations, increase sales, improve customer loyalty and gain competitive advantage. With new mobile computing, voice and RFID solutions, Motorola is empowering store associates with access to better information to make better decisions – ultimately transforming the customer experience.

“Motorola is committed to delivering the future of retail today by helping retailers forge new connections with customers,” said Frank Riso, senior director of retail, Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions. “With our diverse portfolio of enterprise solutions, Motorola enables retail associates to work smarter, improve productivity, stay connected and give customers the shopping experience they want.”

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Obopay Introduces New iPhone Application – Now Sending Money and Staying Connected to Family is Easier Than Ever – Obopay announced that its Obopay Mobile Payments application for the iPhone will be available from the Apple App Store beginning today. The free download will enable iPhone users to send money to friends and family more quickly and easier than ever with Obopay’s application.

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Fortumo Mobile Payments Start Covering The Whole East- Service Launched in Russia – Fortumo.com the leading Mobile Payment Provider for SME-s in Eastern Europe and Asia announced today its expansion to Russia. According to the company, Fortumo is planning to cover all the major Ex Soviet Union countries soon. Ukraine and Belarus will be made available shortly after New Years Eve.

“Easter European and Ex Soviet Union countries are still difficult to access for most of the western internet companies “, – says CEO Fortumo Martin Koppel. “Fortumo sees itself as a gateway, which helps those companies monetize their user base in region without risks and costs”, – adds Koppel.

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VeriFone Holdings, Inc., (NYSE: PAY) today announced PAYware Mobile, a complete payment solution for the Apple iPhone that provides small businesses with simple and secure card processing capabilities on the popular smartphone platform.

VeriFone’s payment solution for the iPhone (www.paywaremobile.com) puts mainstream payment processing capabilities in the hands of small business merchants who need a mobile card acceptance solution for enterprises such as home repair, small cafes, door-to-door sales, or virtually any other type of business. The hardware and software solution will begin shipping January 15 and is available free to those who sign up for a PAYware Mobile secure gateway service agreement.

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Twitter creator Jack Dorsey talks about his new project, Square, and we see it in action
Square – Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey presents new way to accept payments – a hardware software combination for mobile devices that allows vendors to easily accept and process credit card payments

BMO Bank of Montreal and Research In Motion, MasterCard Canada is bringing mobile payments to BlackBerry smartphones through its MasterCard(R) PayPass(TM) ‘tap and go’ contactless payment technology. The four-month trial brings contactless payments via mobile devices a step closer to Canadians.

In this trial, participants will use PayPass(TM) Mobile Tag-equipped BlackBerry smartphones to make secure purchases at any of the 8,500 merchant locations in Canada that accept MasterCard PayPass.

For the first time, the mobile payment will integrate with the device, with a confirmation email of each transaction sent to the BlackBerry smartphone, including purchase details such as the amount, retailer and date of transaction.

How it Works

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China United Network Communications Co. Ltd. (China Unicom) has entered a strategic partnership with China’s sole payment service network, China Unionpay Co. Ltd. to develop mobile payment services, according to a Nov. 29 joint announcement.

Under the deal, China Unicom subscribers will be able to use China Unionpay to make payments and transfer money among participating banks. The two parties will cooperate on the exploration of value-added services such as e-commerce payment applications and security services.

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GoPayforit launched its new mobile payments service to enable bloggers and content owners to more easily sell content online – by using GoPayforit, lower priced content can now be purchased by consumers in an easier, more manageable and less time-consuming way.

GoPayforit allows bloggers and content owners to set up a payment service for their site by inserting one simple line of code. Once established, this enables consumers to debit money directly from their mobile phone bill (PAYG or contract) in order to make payments. UK mobile operators provide support for GoPayforit as a secure transaction platform as it is based on the tried and tested Payforit platform

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