The impact of IT innovation over the next 10 years will be even more profound than in the last decade, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates told an Institute of Directors lunch meeting last week.

The world’s richest man, who steps down from his role leading the world’s largest software company in July, emphasised that the changes wrought by ubiquitous web access are only just beginning to be felt.

Gates’ predictions include the revolutionary impact of software accessed remotely over the internet ­ so-called “software as a service” ­ and hardware technologies using touch and writing as well as the traditional keyboard.

“One of the biggest changes over the next decade will be how we interact with devices,” said Gates.

“And those devices will get smaller and more powerful and they will all connect to the internet.”

The implications of the technological revolution are as much for business as for consumers, with physical working practices and the use of data set to be transformed beyond recognition, said Gates.

“Computing is a tool to equalise the small business with the large business,” he said.