Why businesses should care about changing IT landscape

http://www.times.co.sz/news/68155.html

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Why businesses should care about changing IT landscape

By Fanele Chester on September 02,2011

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November 2012 Go

The month of August was fraught with activity in the information and technology sector.

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From Googles acquisition of Motorola earlier in the month to Steve Jobs resignation as CEO of Apple a couple of days ago, and Hewett-Packards decision to stop making personal computers (PCs), to focus on software development in the early 90s, the winds of change are signalling a transformation of the industry.

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Googles acquisition of Motorola for $12.5 billion was not to add a mobile phone business to their Times Newspaper impressive repertoire of acquisitions, but to control the 17 500-strong patents that came with Media News Motorola. Google realised the need to enter the mobile phone industry as a means of controlling how customers experience their main product: internet search / web browsing. They achieved this News Article through the acquisition of Android, an operating system (OS) for mobile phones, in 2005 for $50 Most E-mailed million. Android was developed to give customers the best mobile Google experience; indeed users of search services such as Google Maps and Gmail reported a better experience on Android- Lawyer Stella Dlamini steals powered phones compared to other competing OS. However, problems surfaced with Android as at Clicks some of the specifications that were used to enhance the Google mobile experience infringed on patented creations. Hence, some of the functionalities that came with the Android OS had to be altered.
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Last week, Hewett-Packards exit from the PC and tablet computer industry came as a surprise to many, but analysts who have been keeping a close eye on the numbers report that this move had been coming for a decade now. Many will recall IBMs similar restructuring in the early 1990s. After running a successful global monopoly of desktops and mainframes, revenues dropped from $13 billion in 1990 to $7 billion in 1993 and losses of $16 billion piled up. 35 000 employees were released to cut costs. A statement released by HP said the company was focusing on higher-margin, strategic priorities of cloud, solutions and software with an emphasis on enterprise, commercial and government markets.

Apples Destructive Innovation

There is an unanimous agreement that the restructuring of the IT industry is attributed to one main player: Apple. The technology giant recently toppled Exxon Mobil Corp. to become the United States most valuable company. In other words, the iPad became more valuable than oil. Competitors in the IT industry took the tip: it was time to restrategise their core operations, or risk being left out. For companies like Google, it suddenly became imperative to control not only the software platforms that run their product, but to be fully involved and integrated in the process.
The Next Experience: Cloud Computing

How does all this affect service delivery by businesses in Swaziland? The reach of mobile phones globally, the accent of smart phones and tablet computers, coupled with advances in internet connectivity, means more people want information, quickly, and from anywhere they happen to be

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11/19/12 10:51 PM

Why businesses should care about changing IT landscape

http://www.times.co.sz/news/68155.html

at that particular moment. Business analysts report that every 10 years or so, a new dominant platform emerges to elevate computing to another level. First came mainframes. This was followed by distributed systems: mini-computers, personal computers (PCs) and servers. And now there are computing clouds and mobile devices. The relationship between cloud computing and mobile phones is at the heart why developing, factor-driven economies like Swaziland should be vigilant of developments in the IT industry. In other words, the more people are connected via the mobile phones and the better mobile broadband there is, the more information they want. What opportunities does cloud computing and mobile devices hold for local businesses, especially those who are not in service-based industries? Preliminary suggestions would include better data management and storage for companies as cloud computing allows them to purchase the space and services they need, and scale these up in line with the business expansion. This can be done through cloud computing brokers or agencies, such as Dimension Data. This means businesses would spend less on their IT infrastructure, freeing up resources that can be used for growth. However, it is important to note that cloud computing in developing economies will only be driven by the quality and affordability of mobile internet connectivity. As a factor-driven economy, these developments may seem peripheral to local businesses. However, the advent of the information age, thanks to the cataclysmic proliferation of mobile networks and broadband, in both developed and developing economies of the world, is reason enough for Swaziland businesses to sit up and take note. Businesses drawing up their long-term strategies will be affected by these new trends. This article was compiled by Fanele Chester of the Federation of Swaziland Employers and Chamber of Commerce (FSE&CC).
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