According to Gartner a strategic technology is one which will significantly impact an enterprise in the next three years. Factors that denote significant impact include a high potential for disruption to IT or the business, the need for a major investment, or the risk of being late to adopt.

These technologies impact an organisation's long-term plans, programs and initiatives. They may be strategic because they have matured to broad market use or because they enable strategic advantage from early adoption.

“Companies should factor the top 10 technologies into their strategic planning process by asking key questions and making deliberate decisions about them during the next two years,” said David Cearley, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “However, this does not necessarily mean adoption and investment in all of the technologies. They should determine which technologies will help and transform their individual business initiatives.”

Of course, number 1 is Cloud Computing:

Cloud computing is a style of computing that enables providers to deliver a variety of IT-enabled capabilities to consumers.

It enables IT applications to be delivered as a service, even from multiple vendors. The customer does not need to own the hardware or software but buys storage capacity and processing capability and a number of 'seats'.

Cloud-based services can be exploited in a variety of ways to develop an application or a solution. Using cloud resources does not eliminate the cost of IT solutions, but does re-arrange some and reduce others. In addition, consuming cloud services enterprises will increasingly act as cloud providers and deliver application, information or business process services to customers and business partners.