The future – ecosystems and standards

By Mark Skilton, Capgemini

This article is a continuation of a series on standards by Mark Stilton. Read his previous posts on “Why standards in information technology are critical“ and “Innovation in the Cloud needs open standards.”

The evolution of standards has become a big domain issue. The world has moved from the individual languages of resources and transactions into architectural standards that seek to describe how different sets of resources, interfaces and interactions can be designed to work together. But this concept has now gone further in networked societies.

In this new “universe” of online and physical services, new channels, portals, devices and services are emerging that create new integration and compositions of services. New business models are emerging as a result, which are impacting existing markets and incumbents as well as creating new rules and standards.  Old standards and policies such as digital privacy and cross-border intellectual property are being challenged by these new realities. Ignoring these is not an option, as companies and whole countries are realizing the need to keep up-to-date and aware of these developments that impact their own locations and economies.

This means the barriers and accelerators to individual markets and new markets are evolving and in constant dynamic change. Standards and interoperability are at the center of these issues and affect the very levers of change in markets.

Cloud Computing is one such phenomenon rewriting the rules on information exchange and business models for provisioning and delivery of products and services. The impact of Cloud Computing on competitive advantage is significant in the way it has lowered barriers to access of markets and collaboration. It has increased speed of provisioning and potential for market growth and expansion through the distributed power of the Internet. The connectivity and extensions of business models brought about by these trends is changing previously held beliefs and competitive advantages of ownership and relationships.

The following diagram was presented at The Open Group Conference, Amsterdam in the fall  of 2010.

The Internet of Things (IOT) is an example of this trend that is seen in the area of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags of materials and products for automatic tracking. But this is just one example of interoperability emerging across industries. Large-scale telecommunications networks now have the ability to reach and integrate large areas of the marketplace through fixed and now wireless mobile communications networks.

This vision can create new possibilities beyond just tagging and integration of supply chains; it hints towards a possibility of social networks, business networks and value chains being able to create new experiences and services through interconnectedness.

Mark Skilton, Director, Capgemini, is the Co-Chair of The Open Group Cloud Computing Work Group. He has been involved in advising clients and developing of strategic portfolio services in Cloud Computing and business transformation. His recent contributions include the publication of Return on Investment models on Cloud Computing widely syndicated that achieved 50,000 hits on CIO.com and in the British Computer Society 2010 Annual Review. His current activities include development of a new Cloud Computing Model standards and best practices on the subject of Cloud Computing impact on Outsourcing and Off-shoring models and contributed to the second edition of the Handbook of Global Outsourcing and Off-shoring published through his involvement with Warwick Business School UK Specialist Masters Degree Program in Information Systems Management.