Computing could reach a level of ubiquity similar to the power grid within five years in which it will be as simple as plugging your PC into the wall, an industry panel has said.
Dubbed cluster computing, this is one aspect of a wider reconstruction of computing and perceptions of IT development within the business community, according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers technology, information and communication senior partner Andrew Sneddon.
“We expect that if you want computing in the future it will be as simple as plugging your PC into the wall,” Sneddon said.
“We suspect this trend will come out of the US and Europe in a similar fashion to the spread of the Internet as I think a similar approach to the spread of cluster computing is needed”.
The business community is also shifting away from deploying proprietary software and internally developed software solutions, according to IDS Enterprise Systems ceo Gordon Towell.
“Businesses no longer want unique software packages – rather they want interoperable packages that fit with their existing business systems,” Towell explained.
“Also no-one believes there is a future in internally developed IT systems because they are not necessarily best practice and are made to drive a competitive advantage that no longer exists with internally-developed software”.
Instead, factory-to-consumer integration will be a key driver in future business growth from a supply chain management (SCM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) perspective, The Australian national business commentator Robert Gottliebsen said.
“Here we are involving consumers right the way through the logistics process and giving them some level of individualised service by letting them keep track of their orders and choose product specifications such as car colour online,” Gottliebsen explained.
“We are going to need a much more flexible customer interface to keep up with and adapt to changes in consumer demands and the overseas market itself”.
Gottliebsen also foreshadowed increased acquisitions of companies for their systems, which can then be integrated into the acquirer’s business for improved economies of scale.
When looking into putting in a new software-based business system, companies should also ask six key questions concerning return on investment, total cost of ownership, implementation time, whether reference sites are available, how the package fits with your existing business systems and the financial stability and track record of the vendor in question.