If you believe ---

So, here's the skeleton of my thesis on why the IT Services market has entered a phase of truly different growth/innovation characteristics.

If you believe ...

• Virtualization of computing/storage/communications resources is real. Enabling ...
  • capital expense avoidance
  • higher levels of operational efficiency
  • greater resilience of infrastructure services
  • material improvements in enterprise flexibility
• Business functionality is increasingly able to be fulfilled via off-premise, built-for-purpose platform offerings.  Such as ...
  • Software-as-a-Service delivered via public cloud architectures (e.g., salesforce.com)
  • Ecosystems of specialized managed services providers (e.g., ADP for payroll)
  • Modular extensions to ERP foundations (e.g., SAP and Oracle)
  • Interfaced with proprietary business process applications
• The requirements for confidence & integrity in business operations are dominant. To encompass ...
  • Resilience of services in response to threats to availability and continuity
  • Confidentiality of information
  • Assurance of correctness in business transactions
• And, that successful enterprises will achieve optimal leverage in its allocation of investments. To wit ...
  • Make-vs-Buy tradeoffs for non-core aspects of the business
  • Industry partnerships/ventures

Then, you require ...

• Vertical Integration among infrastructure, applications and operations.  Ensuring ...
  • Efficiency and accountability for distinct business services
  • Alignment between business strategies and enabling services
• Service Integration among the ecosystem of internal and external service participants.  To include ...
  • Operational linkages among and between service elements
  • Congruency for Enterprise Data used by all parties
  • Trust-enablement of business services

Deliberations ...

Many have asked:  "What's up with the lack of content, Peter?"


So, the long gap in postings has not been for lack of thoughts, opinions, perspectives, or ideas.  Rather, I am debating the merits of continuing to host this personal blog.


Friends such as Phil Fersht have shown that one can represent a company and still maintain a personal line-of-banter with industry colleagues.  I admire him for that.  As for me ... I'm not yet sure.


In the interim, while I wrestle with this question, please know that I am more engrossed in the machinations of the IT Services industry than ever before.  I spent this past week in India - Delhi and Mumbai - with colleagues and industry acquaintances. The annual NASSCOM conference in Mumbai was bigger than ever, and full of the customary bravado about growth of outsourcing and offshoring. 


I gave a speech as part of a panel on "non-linear business models."  The essence of my opinion/perspective was that we're entering a period that has the potential to equal that of the dot-com era in terms of innovation and value-creating business models.  And, I think there are better chances for sustainability of growth today than we saw in the 2000-era.


Why am I so optimistic? I see a confluence of events/trends that seem to be coming together at just the right time - if the recession is truly over.  


I guess I ought to explain, huh?  OK ... I'll post that logic thesis tomorrow.  


Tally ho.