Gartner Research

Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2011

Published: 28 July 2011

Summary

Technologies at the Peak of Inflated Expectations in 2011 include activity streams, wireless power, Internet TV, NFC payment and private cloud computing. Other newly featured high-impact trends include "big data," the Internet of Things and natural language question answering.

Included in Full Research

  • What You Need to Know
  • The Hype Cycle
  • New on the 2011 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies
  • Fast Movers
  • Other Changes From 2010
  • The Priority Matrix
  • Off the Hype Cycle
  • On the Rise
    • 3D Bioprinting
    • Human Augmentation
    • Quantum Computing
    • Computer-Brain Interface
    • Video Analytics for Customer Service
    • Social TV
    • "Big Data" and Extreme Information Processing and Management
    • Mobile Robots
    • Natural Language Question Answering
    • Internet of Things
    • Speech-to-Speech Translation
  • At the Peak
    • Context-Enriched Services
    • Image Recognition
    • 3D Printing
    • Gamification
    • Group Buying
    • Social Analytics
    • Wireless Power
    • Activity Streams
    • Internet TV
    • NFC Payment
    • Private Cloud Computing
    • Augmented Reality
    • Cloud Computing
    • Media Tablet
    • Virtual Assistants
    • In-Memory Database Management Systems
  • Sliding Into the Trough
    • Gesture Recognition
    • Machine-to-Machine Communication Services
    • Mesh Networks: Sensor
    • Cloud/Web Platforms
    • Hosted Virtual Desktops
    • Virtual Worlds
    • E-Book Readers
  • Climbing the Slope
    • Consumerization
    • QR/Color Code
    • Idea Management
    • Biometric Authentication Methods
    • Mobile Application Stores
    • Predictive Analytics
    • Speech Recognition
  • Entering the Plateau
    • Location-Aware Applications
  • Appendixes
    • Hype Cycle Phases, Benefit Ratings and Maturity Levels

Analysts:

Jackie Fenn Hung LeHong

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The Hype Cycle: Understanding the pitfalls and opportunities of innovations

How does a Gartner Hype Cycle™ work?

A Gartner Hype Cycle provides an objective map that helps you understand the real risks and opportunities of innovation, so you can avoid adopting something too early, giving up too soon, adopting too late, or hanging on too long. Every Hype Cycle includes five phases:

The innovation trigger starts when an event, like a technological breakthrough or a product launch, gets people talking.

The peak of inflated expectations is when product usage increases, but there’s still more hype than proof that the innovation can deliver what you need.

The trough of disillusionment happens when the original excitement wears off and early adopters report performance issues and low ROI.

The slope of enlightenment occurs when early adopters see initial benefits and others start to understand how to adapt the innovation to their organizations.

The plateau of productivity marks the point at which more users see real-world benefits and the innovation goes mainstream.

The Hype Cycle is more than just a diagram. You also get:

Evidence-backed insight

Hype Cycles tap into deep research, surveys and conversations with technology suppliers and Gartner clients.

An analysis of objective and value

The y-axis measures expectations. The x-axis relates them to the proven value of that innovation over time.

A long-term view

It often takes between three and five years for an innovation to move through the Hype Cycle, but some fall off along the way.

Gartner Hype Cycle is just one of our many offerings.

We provide actionable, objective insight to help organizations make smarter, faster technology decisions to stay ahead of disruption and accelerate growth.

Pick the right provider with confidence

We work with you to select the best-fit provider to avoid the costly repercussions of a poor decision.

Align deal structures and optimize spend

We benchmark pricing against the market so you avoid unnecessary charges.

Reduce complexity and risk

We analyze contract terms and conditions to protect you against future price increases and unanticipated costs.

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