The Emerging IT Ecosystem

Market forces of commoditization, miniaturization, industrialization, and globalization, along with changing buyer sentiments, will accelerate a shift in the dominant form of IT delivery by 2012 — from buyers self-integrating technology to having it assembled and managed by outside providers. These four underlying drivers aren't new, but their convergence will accelerate this market shift and make it stick: stable operations farmed out to third parties, new IP sourced from open communities and solution brokers, emerging technologies going to market wrapped in process bundles, and new software investments based on subscription rather than ownership. The resulting IT ecosystem structure will place those technology suppliers with the strongest delivery capabilities at the hubs. But in order to stay in the game, today's vendors and service providers will need to overcome their own inertia around the development and management of IP, their rigid engagement models, and their dated partnering strategies.