It’s that time of year to look into the crystal ball and make predictions for 2010. One of my favorite forecasts is that by Gartner. What I find most interesting is that it’s the users of technology, who are driving these technology trends in a big way. Did you know…

…that in less than five years, the growth of enterprise data is projected to be 650%! And, 80% of that data will be unstructured. We are sending and accessing data like never before, and enterprises need a way to manage and store this explosion of data. Look to such technologies as virtualization, automated tiering, and data duplication.

…that the fastest growing social network is Twitter, with annual growth of 1,382%! And of these new users, 62% are between the ages of 39 and 51. The new normal extends far beyond teenagers and includes everyone in the enterprise ecosystem: employees, customers, and partners.

…that the number of text messages sent in the past 24 hours was 6,700,000,000 and exceeds the total population of the planet! How can IT and companies as a whole embrace social networking to its advantage, and how can IT set policies and influence new rules of engagement?

Why does all this matter? In one word, optimization. These trends require us to look at the utilization of our assets (computing, storage, mobile devices, etc.), cost savings, unified communications, and the customer experience, all of which ultimately affects the competitive advantage of the enterprise.

When making plans for 2010, Gartner suggests watching these trends carefully:

1 – Virtualization

2 – Data Deluge

3 – Energy and Green IT

4 – Complex Resource Tracking

5 – Social Software

6 – Unified Communication (UC)

7 – Mobile and Wireless

8 – System Density

9 – Mashups and Portals

10 – Cloud Computing

Arguably, it’s best to address certain trends now. As you plan for 2010, you may want to consider these thoughts:

Thousands of new applications are coming online, and social media is unstoppable. How will you manage data, and deliver applications to end users with multiple devices and smart phones?

As communication applications become tightly integrated and device agnostic, what Unified Communication business scenarios make sense for your enterprise?

To reduce operating expenses and increase efficiencies, how can an enterprise leverage virtualization and server utilization so that it uses only what it needs? And finally, are there any common services available now that can be moved to the cloud, of course after evaluating these applications and services based upon SLA’s and risks?

The New Year is a perfect time to take a fresh look at, and perhaps take a new approach toward, the technology trends IT deem most important.