Developers around the world believe IBM Watson’s sophisticated analytics capabilities will have the most transformative impact on the education industry according to the 2011 IBM Tech Trends Report released today. The health care industry came in a close second.

The Tech Trends Report surveyed more than 4,000 Information Technology (IT) professionals from 93 countries and 25 industries who provided their views

on future IT trends. The results also show a growing need for technical skills in the areas of social business, mobile computing, business analytics and cloud computing.

Africa with a fledgling education and health care system may benefit the most from accessible, flexible and affordable open source and  mobile technology routed in cloud computing.

Read the report and share your opinions at #TechTrends and see what IBM experts are saying about the findings at youtube.

The IT professionals surveyed identified Watson’s analytics capabilities as key to adapting customized learning plans for students, equalizing resources for remote areas and changing the approach academics use to solve problems and enable creative thinking. Survey respondents also identified Watson's ability to quickly analyze large volumes of data, as having the biggest impact on the fields of data analytics and artificial intelligence.

According to the report, business analytics software is the most widely used technology of those surveyed. In fact, business analytics software is being incorporated in almost every business process within organizations. The majority of respondents believe that business analytics will continue to be in demand for software development. The report also outlines the growing importance of open source platforms such as Apache Hadoop and Linux for business analytics software developers.

The report provides IT and business professionals a roadmap of the technologies and skills that will be in greatest demand in the coming years. Key findings in the 2011 IBM Tech Trends Report include:

. Eighty-seven percent of respondents believe open source and open standard technologies will play a key role in the future of  application development.

· During the next two years more than 75 percent of organizations will engage in cloud computing.

· Fifty-one percent of respondents cited the adoption of cloud  technologies as part of their mobile strategy.

· Regional cultural differences impact social business adoption. India is strongly embracing social business with a 57 percent adoption rate, followed by the US with a     45 percent adoption rate and China with a 44 percent adoption rate. Russia shows the strongest resistance with a 19 percent adoption rate.

“The results are clear. Mobile computing, cloud computing, social business and business analytics have gone beyond niche status and are now part of any modern organization's core IT focus,” said Jim Corgel, general manager ISV and Developer Relations, IBM. “IT professionals who can develop the skills needed to work across these technologies will be ready to meet growing business demand in the coming years.”

IBM developerWorks, the company’s online community for IT professionals is the industry's largest and most visited global site for them to gain technology skills. More than eight million IT professionals have visited the community to gain no-cost access to software tools and code, IT standards and best practices across various industries. Visitors also tap skills training in open technologies, business analytics, cloud computing and mobile computing, among others. In addition, IBM Business Partners and entrepreneurs can access advanced training and resources at IBM’s network of 40 Innovation Centers around the world to further build their skills.

The complete IBM 2011 Tech Trends Report and the data gathered as part of the survey are available at: ibm.com/developerworks/techtrendsreport.