{"id":48181,"date":"2014-01-08T07:52:49","date_gmt":"2014-01-08T12:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=48181"},"modified":"2014-01-08T07:54:45","modified_gmt":"2014-01-08T12:54:45","slug":"do-2013-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2014\/01\/do-2013-predictions\/","title":{"rendered":"How well did we do? A look back at our 2013 predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

A review of the six ICT\/tech trends we anticipated would be evident in the Caribbean in 2013.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"DartAt the beginning of 2013, we published six ICT\/tech trends<\/a> we believed would become more evident in the Caribbean during that year. Having said \u201cgoodbye\u201d to 2013, we are taking the opportunity to review our predictions from last year, highlight developments that occurred during the period, and by extension, assess how well we did.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Greater acceptance and use of cloud computing options by businesses<\/h3>\n

Over the past year, economic recovery has remained slow across the Caribbean, resulting in governments and organisations becoming more aggressive about efficiency and cost savings. Currently, quantifiable data on the take-up of cloud services by Caribbean businesses is not readily available, but from information in the public domain, we have some insight into some of the strides that have been made across the region. For example, data centres, such as the Cura\u00e7ao Technology Exchange (CTEX)<\/a>, and cloud service providers, including Digicel<\/a>, were aggressively promoting their services across the region, whilst Internet provider, LIME, migrated its email service to Google Apps in Barbados<\/a>, Jamaica<\/a> and Trinidad and Tobago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is interesting to note that in migrating to Google Apps, LIME emails account holders will not only have Gmail as the backend for that service, they will also have access to a suite of cloud-based applications, which are part of the Google Apps suite. They include Calendar and Drive, which can be accessed in real time, from any location, and shared with others online.<\/p>\n

2. Increased efforts to address cybercrime and security within the region<\/h3>\n

Over the past year, there were regular reports of network breaches across the Caribbean; however, as is the norm, what was reported publicly would likely have been a small percentage of that actually experienced. Having said this, there was evidence of greater awareness and effort across the region to begin to address cyber crime and security, including:<\/p>\n