Analyst firm Gartner has spelled out its top ten technologies for the future.

Companies wanting to arrange a courier delivery service from a remote location will find that every business application will be optimised for social media within the next five years, Gartner has said.

The prediction came as the analyst firm lists its top ten strategic technologies that it expects will change the way businesses operate, which include social media, cloud computing, mobile apps and tablet computers.

Gartner advises firms to bring together their social CRM [customer relationship management], internal communications and public social site initiatives into a single, coordinated strategy.

Commenting, Gartner vice-president Carl Claunch said in many instances the decision will be to do nothing about a particular technology.

"In other cases, it will be to continue investing in the technology at the current rate. In still other cases, the decision may be to test or more aggressively deploy the technology," he added.

The news comes after comScore reported on variances in how mobile devices are used in different countries, revealing that Japanese people are more likely to shop using a smartphone, while US users like to access social networking sites.

Posted by Rob Elliott 

Article Added: 21/10/2010 09:42:03