Commoditization of IT
I just came across this, from the Portland Roundtable on software development, Commodization of IT
One idea that comes to mind borrows from the experience of the computer hardware industry, and relates to aggregation concepts. If one can combine commodity components to create a new product that is both useful and affordable (i.e. high-value) then commoditization becomes an enabling force, an opportunity, if you will, to provide something that was not feasible to provide before. Using this analogy, how might this concept of commodity aggregation apply to IT services?
Last year I was thinking with some colleagues on commoditization from a perspective of fixed price bidding. The roundtable report provides some fresh insight. I am thinking of integrated (yet loosely coupled) products recently, but had not yet linked it to commoditization.
What I get from the roundtable is: If you’re competing on price alone, it is because you are not differentiated enough.
