"On-demand computing is definitely starting to make some serious inroads in enterprise IT," says a new TechTarget report. "We believe that within 7 to 10 years, on-demand computing will be the normal mode of operation in most large enterprises, and it will be increasingly popular with medium-sized businesses...We also expect that on-demand computing will force application vendors to radically change their business models away from software licensing to pay-as-you-go or a software-as-services model. Several vendors, notably Salesforce.com, are well positioned to be major players in the future on-demand computing world."

What's becoming more and more clear is that utility computing will be a rich vein for entrepreneurs to mine through the next decade. The TechTarget report describes how big IT vendors are gobbling up small firms with utility-related technologies: Sun buying SeeBeyond and Tarantella, IBM buying Meiosys, Cisco buying Topspin, and so on. On the software side, the success of Salesforce.com and other software-as-service newcomers is attracting a slew of new entrants. Most will fail, of course, but the winners will win big.

The standardization and commoditization of IT are spurring consolidation at the top of the market, but in opening the way to a new model of IT supply, the same trends are creating big opportunities for innovative startups. Let the disruption begin.

1:34:53 PM    comment