The Change in the rules of the game called IT

There is an interesting shift that is happening in terms of IT as a whole. Its as if the tectonic plates are moving really fast and this is going to cause a huge upheaval some time in the next 5 years. The fundamental driving force behind this change is the availability of a reliable public network a.k.a internet. It has taken some time for me to understand the overall impact that this is going to have on the way IT is today and it was good enough to wake myself from my blog slumber and write this post.

I know a lot of people are talking about Cloud Computing, Public Clouds, Private Clouds, Platforms as a Service and SaaS applications all in one breath though I am sure 90% of the people dont even know what the heck it is. I also know that the industry pundits are still grappling with the right definition of Private and Public clouds with one set saying there is no such thing like "Private Cloud" as it wont provide the scale of optimization and the other set saying Corporate will NEVER agree to push their IT into the public world.

There is another thread to this. With the "on the cloud" a.k.a SaaS applications coming up in tens every month and the fact the tomorrows IT needs will definitely encompass applications on the cloud, the Platform as a Service will eventually force a technology shift and the way software applications are architect-ed and designed. Integration factors to the applications in the cloud and in house applications are a reality and the problems will HAVE to be solved. There is no other way but to solve that problem.

I do see a "Private Cloud". Only not in the sense it is understood today. I am beginning to see the IT outsourcing providers smell something here. I see them beginning to realize that they are already providing services to thousands of customers, these corporations will themselves not be able to do "private cloud" and still get the optimization.

I think the rule change has come. IT Service Providers will have to deliver a lot more value that they do today. They will be FORCED to shift to delivering services on private clouds that they host and operate. This will help the IT Service Companies deliver the shared services optimization to the hardware just like they do in software simply because of their scale. Corporations will eventually have to agree to THAT model. The fact that their IT services vendors can host their apps and deliver IT end to end over a "private cloud" providing them the necessary security cover.

The next logical step for the IT services companies is to learn to be Data Center providers like Amazon. Amazon will NEVER be what the IT Service Providers CAN be to companies given the fact that they are already aware of their customers security policies and have learned to work with the restrictions. The fact that the hardware and software  services can be commodatized and delivered is something we always knew. It is just that we are at the right tipping point with technology enabling the need.

Those who leave out on this opportunity will have to close shop. This is because software outsourcing is not going to bring in tomorrows revenue. The ground has started rumbling. I can hear the shift..can you?