7 CES Announcements IT Pros Need to Know About

Despite its name, the annual Consumer Electronics Show isn't wholly consumer tech. These seven announcements--covering data analytics, collaboration, RAM and more--may impact the systems and devices your employees use in 2013.

By John Brandon
Mon, January 21, 2013

CIO — The Consumer Electronics Show is not only about consumer gadgets, as enterprise vendors such as Dell and Intel tend to announce major new technology advancements as well. CES 2013 was no different. Here are the top business tech announcements from Las Vegas.

Sysomos MAP

The Sysomos data analytics tool could be a boon for companies trying to understand their social networking engagement and track a brand worldwide. The tool analyzes two years of data and billions of online posts to determine who is influencing a brand and whether there is positive or negative sentiment. For example, Ford Motor Company could use the tool to find out whether social network posts are favorable to a new model, or American Express could track who is influencing opinions. Detailed charts let users compare an enterprise brand against a competitor and see trends over time.

CES 2013 Logo

Tips: How Big Data Brings BI, Predictive Analytics Together

Intel Personify Chat

There's a radical new enterprise-grade chat system that will debut this year, and Intel provided a sneak-peek at how it will work at CES 2013. Video overlays of meeting attendees (or whatever you are sharing on your screen) appear over the Web.

The idea is to include the "talking head" of attendees on top of the subject at hand to combine video interaction and collaboration. This promotes better engagement between those in the meeting, as they are always up on the screen.

Video: Intel Booth at 2013 International CES
Commentary: Will Portable All-In-One PCs Be the Next Big Collaboration Tool?

Dell Project Ophelia

This thumb drive computer from Dell is packed with enterprise features. Employees can plug the device, which is about the size of your finger, into any computer or monitor with a USB port. The Android-powered OS allows employees to access the Web from any device—but, more importantly, the thumb drive provides secure VPN access over Wi-Fi. Admins can manage the thumb drive using the Dell Wyse Cloud Client Manager.

Commentary: Dell Unveils True Enterprise Pocket PC at CES

Continue Reading