Analysing the analysts

As can be expected with worldwide predictions across a range of technologies going through their natural cycle of conception, market over-enthusiasm, disillusionment and eventual understanding, some tweaking comes in handy. This is because of regional specificities.

Alexander Linden, Research VP for Gartner, admits this. In his call to iWeek, he defended and clarified the location of some circles on the curve, while conceding to arguments for others being edged left or right.

For instance, one would have thought that BPM, or business process management, would be considered more mature than to merit a spot right at the top of the `peak of inflated expectations`.

Linden explained: "Viewing BPM suites in more detail, and trying to plot it, always involves some compromise. It`s definitely not a mature area, but if you say it had more hype last year than it will this year, you`re right.

"It`s not so much the `management` of business processes, it`s the `modelling` that is tricky. Mapping business processes into a computer is very difficult."

JOE BLOGS

As regards another piece of hot property, corporate blogging, Linden echoes the warm and fuzzy sentiment among marketers towards this phenomenon. He says understanding has dawned that a blog is a quick, easy and standards-based way to communicate with employees or external stakeholders.

For an online media house like ITWeb, blogging - currently under way - has a twofold opportunity: to engage readers without prescribing or moderating content entries, and to gather information timeously and in an unmoderated/unfiltered way, which the publisher would otherwise have had to gather on its own.

It builds loyal communities and adds stickiness through additional functionality.

Linden adds that as a platform, blogging tools represent the lowest common denominator of interoperability, which means users or companies don`t have to download software to use it.

SAAS SLOPE

Software as a service, unlike BPM, is rather high up on the `slope of enlightenment`, which seems queerly mature for a trend that still has to prove itself as a mainstream offering.

But Linden says aside from Salesforce.com, there are four or five good examples of SAAS at work, "which seems like a good time to advance it".

He explains that "not everyone is, of course, adopting it. It may still take a while".

He further clarifies that "the level" of trough or peak is a relevant consideration. "RFID, for example, is at a high