Welcome to the Hype Cycle Special Report for 2005. This year, we assess more than 1,600 information technologies and trends across 69 markets, regions and industries to provide you with the most comprehensive assessment of technology maturity in the IT industry. Communications and IT Services Hype Cycles present the evolving worlds of wired and wireless networking, call center and speech technologies, and the latest assessment of the IT services market with its current frenzy to deliver globally across the spectrum of IT and business process services.

Hype Cycle for Enterprise Speech Technologies These technologies have proven effective in big call centers for things like call routing and ticketing. But to be used widely for many other functions, they must be made simpler and cheaper to build, deploy and maintain. Hype Cycles for IT Services Using this Hype Cycle, organizations that are contemplating the acquisition of services in one or more of the categories will benefit from assessing the amount of hype and relative maturity of the service before making a decision. Hype Cycle for Network Service Provider Infrastructure, 2005 Service providers are starting to invest in their networks again, now that the dark days of 2001 to 2003 are behind them. Several of the new technologies they are considering are at the Peak of Inflated Expectations. Hype Cycle for Wireless Hardware, Software and Services This year's Hype Cycle reflects the fact that development of new software and services is outpacing that of hardware. Eventually, as software and application platforms gain in importance, hardware will become a commodity. Hype Cycle for Telecommunications Telecom carriers face new competitive threats with the convergence of media. They need to examine technologies and services to enable differentiated services and distribution channels to generate additional revenue. Hype Cycle for Networking and Communication As confidence returns to the communications and networking sector, greater investment by vendors for product differentiation is resulting in new and accelerated technology advancements. Hype Cycle for Wireless Networking Wireless technologies are maturing. Over the past year, third-generation cellular technologies and radio frequency ID tags made the biggest moves along the Hype Cycle, but they remain far from the Plateau of Productivity. Hype Cycle for Contact Center Infrastructure Advances in this field focus on integrating a wider range of business functions, improving channel interoperation and supporting Internet standards. Our Hype Cycle can help you decide how and when to use the new features. Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies The Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies targets planners who advise their organizations on the adoption of emerging technologies. We feature 44 technologies that have great potential impact or that are being significantly hyped or underhyped in the marketplace.

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