At a time when innovation in devices, mobility and connectivity continue to drive the way we use everyday services, socialise and communicate, what trends can we expect to emerge in the forthcoming months? Using GfK data to explore how technology is likely to evolve throughout this year, we’ve identified five consumer-led trends to look out for…

1 – Reaching the Cloud

This is the year that cloud-based solutions will creep into the mainstream. Offering internet-based computing where shared information, software, and resources are accessible on demand, this trend is largely driven by the ever-increasing use of smartphones, connected devices and other advanced mobile applications. As such, it is an essential development to complement the ecosystem as it facilitates consistent service usage and storage across any device.

The Western European technology sector continues to grow, according to the latest GfK Retail and Technology TEMAX report, which showed Q4 year on year growth of 0.2%. This equates to 2.1% growth for 2010, driven by innovation in IT connectivity and Smartphone sales.

Looking back to establish future trends

Rapid innovation in the technology sector has continued to drive consumers and businesses to adopt devices that enable increasingly mobile and connected access to their favourite content and services. In addition, the overwhelming growth in the smartphone market has resulted in year-on-year growth in the Telecommunications (TC) market. The growth trends established at the beginning of the year continue to strengthen, and influence businesses and consumers to invest in the latest technology.

Innovation in IT connectivity and devices