Current Trends in Computer Hardware and Software Platforms

Posted on Mar 9, 2025 in Technology

Current Trends in Computer Hardware Platforms

Increasingly, computing is taking place on a mobile digital platform. Here’s a breakdown of key trends:

Grid Computing: Connects geographically remote computers into a single network, creating a computational grid that combines the computing power of all connected machines.
Virtualization: Organizes computing resources so their use is not restricted by physical configuration or geographic location.
Cloud Computing: Firms and individuals obtain computing power and software as services over a network, including the internet, rather than purchasing and installing hardware and software on their own computers.
Multicore Processors: Microprocessors with two or more processing cores attached for enhanced performance.
Green Computing: Practices and technologies for producing, using, and disposing of information technology hardware to minimize negative environmental impact.
Autonomic Computing: Computer systems with capabilities for automatically configuring and repairing themselves.
Power-Saving Processors: These dramatically reduce power consumption in mobile digital devices.

Here’s a look at the major trends in software:

Open Source Software: Produced and maintained by a global community of programmers; often downloadable for free.
Linux: A powerful, resilient open-source operating system that can run on multiple hardware platforms and is widely used to run Web servers.
Java: An operating-system and hardware-independent programming language; the leading interactive programming environment for the Web.
HTML5: Enables embedding images, audio, and video directly into a Web document without add-on programs.
Web Services: Loosely coupled software components based on open Web standards that work with any application software and operating system. They can be used as components of Web-based applications, linking the systems of two different organizations or disparate systems within a single company.
Companies are purchasing new software applications from outside sources, including:
- Software packages.
- Outsourcing custom application development to an external vendor (potentially offshore).
- Renting online software services (SaaS).
Mashups: Combine two different software services to create new software applications and services.
Apps: Small pieces of software that run on the Internet, on a computer, or on a mobile phone, generally delivered over the Internet.

Major challenges include:

Solution guidelines include:

Using a competitive forces model to determine how much to spend on IT infrastructure and where to make strategic infrastructure investments.
Establishing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of information technology assets. The total cost of owning technology resources includes not only the original cost of computer hardware and software but also costs for hardware and software upgrades, maintenance, technical support, and training.