Australian ICT growth in 2014 will be driven by Big Data, Cloud, mobile and social – the four pillars of IDC’s third platform.
The latest IDC report indicates Cloud services consumption will expand beyond IT to the business user as the Cloud evolves into brokerage based delivery model.
But, according to IDC analysts, being a Cloud broker will not be limited to the service provider, CIOs can also take advantage of this model to become enterprise service brokers of both IT and business services.
For businesses looking to beyond mobilising their people to mobilising their business services, IDC expects to see a shift from Bring-you-own-Device to Choose-your-own-Device.
The primary driver of this is the complexity of delivering, managing and supporting mobile applications.
For IT, it will be more manageable to limit the number of devices, form factors and operating systems.
Telecommunications service providers and equipment suppliers will see significant change based on the increasing role of software-defined everything, especially software-defined networks(SDNs).
As SDN products and technologies are introduced into the market, customers will have greater choice not only in what products they purchase but also in how they design and build their networks to support application workloads.
Meanwhile, incumbent vendors will have to strike the right balance between responding to customers' calls for change, while defending their installed base and protecting investments in existing product portfolios.
IDC analysts believe there will be a need for vendors and channel partners (resellers and integrators) to deliver SDN professional services, involving both consulting and implementation, to enterprise customers across a broad spread of vertical markets.
Vendors and the channel will generate additional revenue from SDN professional services, while customers would benefit from the value such third-party services could bestow.
IT expenditure is also changing, not only will purchasing decisions and budgets move increasingly away from IT towards other line-of-business (LOB) managers, but also from capex to opex, with shorter return on investment cycles.
According to IDC, as Cloud, Big Data, mobility and social business become more strategic to organisations, roles such as "Director of Mobility" and a "Chief Data Scientist" will arise within those organisations.
New categories of devices will also become increasingly important through the year, with most attention being paid to the many sensors and other devices powering the Internet of things (IoT), and wearable technology.
IoT can be a daunting concept to many organisations, as it will fundamentally change life as we know it, although with great change comes great opportunity.
For consumers, the way we consume content, communicate, monitor our health, live in our homes, and travel will be inextricably linked by these technologies.
According to IDC, for companies, business models will be redesigned to deliver improved efficiencies and to change the customer experience.
And for the vendors that will support this revolution, opportunities abound to create the new and innovative products and services that will change the world as we know it.
IDC Telco analyst, Graham Barr said the four pillars of IDC’s third platform would be the key growth drivers.
“Whilst the NBN may drive further consolidation in the telecom sector, any significant increases in service rollout will not start until 2015,” he said.
“Decisions around telecoms purchases, especially mobility, will be increasingly influenced by LOB executives, and we expect to see a new role emerging — a senior manager responsible for mobile strategy,"
Barr said the 3rd Platform marketplace would also drive significant disruption through the market in the year ahead.
“This marketplace is being built on new technologies and new economic models with higher volumes, lower prices, and faster cycle times, delivering new solutions developed by many new developers and innovators," he said.
