Forrester

Why Read This Report

There are defining moments in IT where all the stars align to create a big bang. Twenty years ago, IT vendors faced clients wanting application and service value, not technology. The market dominance of IBM mainframes forced these smaller vendors to find a common ground. Open systems were thus born and changed the face of IT. This started a new technology cycle based on the declining cost of hardware and the availability of application software, which led to the emergence and then preeminence of left-field players such as HP and Sun Microsystems. This cycle, like the previous one, ended up with technology taking a backseat to business value. Meanwhile, a new cycle is about to start, where IT is just another business tool. To achieve this new status, IT has to improve its technology processes to reach a cost-to-value ratio that is compatible with business expectations. Eventually, Sun's acquisition by Oracle is about building this new IT model, which integrates application technologies with virtualization, cloud computing, and automation to reduce the labor cost associated with IT services. A new era is about to begin, and it will again transform the IT landscape.