By the end of 2005, about 45% of the companies in the US will likely be using some form of a Web service, according to market research firm Gartner. Web services use the protocols that power the web to turn raw information into a kind of utility that can be repurposed in many forms. The promise is the ability to exchange data in ways that only blue-chip companies like GE or Cisco Systems have been able to do in the past, but without a bewildering array of heavy-duty protocols like electronic data interchange (EDI).

Search me
The amount of data that we store on our desktop computers is exploding. A whole new industry has popped up to enable users to search their desktop files easily, including Google's desktop search tool, and startup Blinkx. Desktop search isn't just another cool technology. Search engine companies believe there is a great revenue potential in getting desktop customers to click on sponsored links, which generates online advertising dollars. The burgeoning market also has put the spotlight on a group of companies focused solely on desktop search. Companies like Copernic, ZyLAB, ISYS, dtSearch, X1, and Enfish hope to out-innovate the larger players in a new area. Some make their money by selling their software, while others offer free downloads and generate revenue with ads. Google says that hundreds of thousands of users have downloaded its desktop search feature. San Francisco-based Blinkx reports 1.5 mn people downloaded its software since it launched in July last year, exceeding its initial forecasts.

Search engine wars
Microsoft and Yahoo will slug it out with Google for search supremacy this year, while a host of startups will get funding to bring new search technology to market. By this year-end, expect search engines to do a better job of interpreting your needs as well as searching images, maps, libraries and who knows what else. The best part? It's all free to the user.

Blogging for business
Corporations have seen the Web blog light, and blogs will become common for business use. Unfortunately, far too many of these efforts will just be marketing fluff disguised as blogs.

WiMAX coming up
In 2005, WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) wireless metropolitan-area networks will be adopted by service providers for backhaul and wireless broadband delivery, dramatically increasing local-loop competition and driving down access prices by 10% to 20% per year (starting in 2006), while providing an alternative for enterprises interconnecting campus buildings.

At first glance, WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) seems like Wi-Fi on steroids, with a range of up to 31 miles, compared with Wi-Fi's 300 feet or so. But WiMAX isn't so much an alternative to Wi-Fi as an alternative to cable modems and DSL lines. It's a last-mile technology that brings wireless broadband to office parks and neighborhoods.

WiMAX has some powerful backers, too, most notably Intel and Nokia. Indeed, Intel is working on a WiMAX chipset and hopes to put the technology in laptops within the next couple of years. But that's where things may get a little tricky. WiMAX was designed for fixed locations, and mobility has been an add-on, with an enhanced standard (802.16e) expected to be approved later this year. A rival standard (802.20, or Mobile-Fi) was designed from the ground up for mobility, so it can handle mobile communications in fast-moving vehicles. But WiMAX gear is expected to hit the market first. And with Intel pushing the technology, no one is quite ready to bet against it.

In a broad sense
Employee-driven, diverse models of broadband will proliferate in the enterprise for remote access and home offices. DSL will become a major factor in business access (especially for small/midsize offices and in the retail vertical). Business broadband services will proliferate in Europe, while broadband will be a lower-cost/lower-reliability alternative in the US. In US, the carriers will roll out fiber to more residential locations, emphasizing entertainment and gaming, as well as household wireless. Satellite broadband services will decline rapidly, while broadband over powerline will fail to take hold.

Streaming video
Video streaming will be slowly adopted, with applications built around streaming events as well as on-demand services (eg, training). Businesses will increasingly use external providers to deliver video streaming capabilities. Videoconferencing will become integrated into traditional conferencing and collaboration platforms, but desktop-based two-way videoconferencing will not be broadly adopted before 2009.