Over the last 5 years or so, a lot has happened in the IT industry that has disrupted the very way we use hardware and software, and to an extent, it has given us alternate ways to consume information. Every year, analyst firms and IT service providers look for technologies or trends that will drive the next wave of change (or disruption). This year too, things are no different–with some overlapping trends in the numerous predictions and insights that are coming our way.
Overall, two areas stand out in having a profound impact on the way technology will be strategized and applied to consumers and the enterprise. First comes Mobility, and then comes the Disruptive Cloud. The interesting point to note is that both these forces are mutually reinforcing the other as they evolve. All the leading IT solution and service providers today, have increased their focus on the mobility segment– which includes the mobile, notebook, and everything in between. The Cloud, on the other hand, has enabled the realization of the unthinkable–to enable processing of data on devices, no matter what operating system or hardware it is running on. So anybody would agree with me when I say that the Cloud now controls the digital lives of people and extends anywhere from computing to communicating.
If the recent product and service launches are to be analyzed, the signals are clear that the primary goal of IT solution providers is to create a powerful ecosystem from both the developer and consumer perspectives. The release of windows 8 is a perfect example in this regard, as it is in line with the strategy being adopted by the big players in the IT domain. In a nutshell, Windows 8 is the older version in a new bottle with some features taken to the visual backend and up come those Apps! Apps that have evolved with new usability features and behavior. Though they require a multi-channel integration and interaction, the end product is so advanced that the experience can be customized to where a person is located and what they are doing. This is the same strategy being followed by Google, though not in very obvious terms, with Apps being designed for mobile and bigger devices. However, even though both the strategies might be the same in a way, the business sense is entirely different. Both Microsoft and Google are at the two ends of the OS dominance. One rules the desktop space while the other is at the mobile and both want more. For Microsoft it is about leveraging their desktop OS superiority to the not so successful mobile space while for Google there seems to be a simpler challenge – develop more for mobile and then leverage the same for larger devices. But hey, why are we not taking Apple into consideration here? Because, looks like they ‘bit the fruit’ first and did not feel anything! This strategy worked out perfectly for Apple with their scalable OS that works great on all devices. Though mobile and cloud came later, they were ready to embrace the change and leverage it to their strengths, even though they metaphorically, ‘arrived late to the party’! If you watched the WWDC2013 keynote, all this would make perfect sense as Apple lays out the plan for the next 10 years.
The fight on the other hand for Microsoft and Google is not about reaching first or about dominance but it is about who reaches the other end first. And what will help them achieve this – mobility and cloud.
Either way, ‘biting the fruit like Apple’ second causes lesser pain, doesn’t it?
