6 things to remember about 2010

I could start with a seasonal pun. Maybe one about Rude-olph the grumpy reindeer or the old gag about claustrophobics being afraid of Santa. But I think we’re probably already at the stage in the festive season where weak jokes are best left for the crackers. So, I’ll keep it simple. Here are six 2010 happenings that we think are worth reflecting on for their potential impact on our clients in 2011.

1. The Coalition. Our new government is set to be the anti-Santa; cutting spending and being radical in their attempts to cut the deficit. The impact of the restructuring and reforms of this government will be far-reaching not only for suppliers to government (more for less please) but for those who rely on consumer confidence. But necessity is the mother of invention and difficult times are often the crucible from which new, game-changing business models emerge.

2. The iPad. It’s hard to believe that this bad boy is less than a year old. In less than 9 months the iPad has confounded expectations to create a new market segment and a new mode of usage for an internet connected device. As usual Apple has left competitors playing catch-up and seems to have this Christmas pretty much to itself. Some of the content being produced for the iPad, especially by publishers, is simply gorgeous. As a result, every organisation that publishes and sells online must now plan for how it addresses this new category of device.

3. Race Online 2012. Martha Lane Fox’s campaign to get the last 10m of UK citizens online within 2 years has the backing of the new government and a veritable who’s who of UK business. 10 million extra netizens represents a very significant new market for ISPs, equipment providers, online retailers and anyone else playing in the digital economy. Sure they’ll be harder to access and less lucrative, but see point 1 above for reasons why it’s worth bothering anyway.

4. 3^rd generation Kindle. The smart money this year said that the iPad would kill eReaders like the Kindle. In fact the 3^rd generation device from Amazon is selling at an amazing rate (John Lewis had sold their entire stock of 10,000 by the first week in December). It does seem like the eReader is, at least for now, a separate and important category of device. And, it’s not just the hardware; Kindle books outsell hardbacks by nearly 2:1 on Amazon now so all the indications are that books are the next media format to be sliding towards a predominantly digital form.

5. Us. 2010 was the year in which Transform came into being from the merger of public sector specialists Digital Public and retail and media consultancy CVL. Together we are market leaders in helping public and private sector organisations plan for and cope with channel shift. Our work supporting the government’s review of Directgov was a great example of how we were able to use our combined skills to come up with far-reaching and radical recommendations that we believe will transform (of course!) Directgov for the better.

6. Facebook. 2010 was the year in which Facebook amassed more than 550m members. If Facebook were a country it would be second only to India and China in population terms. Or, put another way, 1 in 12 people on the planet is a member. This year saw the emergence of social commerce as a major force and the need for businesses to move beyond thinking of social media as an engagement mechanism to viewing it as a key piece of commerce real estate.

So that’s it. After Christmas, our CEO, Simon Clark, will set the scene for 2011. But until then very best wishes for a Merry Christmas and happy New Year from everyone at Transform.