"The third platform": the development of mainstream-driven cloud computing is overwhelming

After the reform of the IT industry model of thinking, cloud computing has become one of the mainstream drivers in the industry. IDC, the industry analyst firm, calls this transfer "the third platform," a continuation of the two previous technology transfers. At the same time, the question remains whether the platform is new or not, and whether the company chooses to ignore it will affect development.

So where does the third platform come from? IDC's "first platform" consists of mainframes and terminals; "second platform" includes a client-server model that is largely supported by the PC. As these computing platforms emerge, companies are forced to gradually replace their computing infrastructures to trace the growth of the times.

"The mainframe is a centralized system," said Agatha Poon of the 451 Institute. Using the client-server model, the business diversifies IT purchases, "Now it's time to move to the cloud to get it going and get it back," Poon adds.

The definition of the third platform is more broad than the previous two platforms, covering the software and hardware development. Built on mobile computing, cloud computing devices, social networking and big data analytics. According to IDC, from 2013 to 2020, these technologies will drive 90% growth in the IT market.

Cloud computing has played an important role in transforming the design of enterprise IT systems. Cloud software development will become more and more important, freeing developers from tedious purchases of infrastructure. Reduced cycle time gives programmers more time for creative development, allowing them to build attractive new business models and improve end-user experience.

The increasing importance of clouds will lead to a significant shift. IDC expects the market to explode on the platform as a service (PaaS) in 2013 as the market raises the software stack. But the level of PaaS, will be commercialized as more platforms are built on open source infrastructure. In response, cloud services have adjusted the needs of specific industries to emerge.

Integration will also appear. In 2013, mergers and acquisitions will accelerate. In fact, as cloud computing becomes more of a vendor's product, the company expects to complete more than $ 25 billion in acquisitions in 20 months. Packaged application providers, such as IBM, Microsoft and Oracle, will develop software-as-a-service offerings to compel them to compete with pure SaaS vendors such as Salesforce.com and Workday, making them the market leaders for major applications. In short, the traditional market separators will be blurred.

Therefore, it is important for businesses to recognize and embrace this shift if the paradigm shift really takes place. Businesses can face a dilemma if they are not able to focus primarily on catching up with new market changes and may be slower than global GDP growth.