{"id":380,"date":"2014-02-17T19:49:46","date_gmt":"2014-02-17T19:49:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.timwyatt.ca\/test\/?p=380"},"modified":"2014-02-18T21:39:22","modified_gmt":"2014-02-18T21:39:22","slug":"changing-the-rules-gaining-altitude-in-the-cloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.timwyatt.ca\/test\/?p=380","title":{"rendered":"Changing the Rules | Gaining Altitude in the Cloud"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
\n

In Assessing the Cloud\u2019s Clout to Disrupt the Outsourcing World<\/i><\/a>, Peter Bendor-Samuel<\/a> suggests that cloud-based IT services will be highly disruptive to the IT infrastructure space. I agree \u2013 and assert that the impact will occur faster and be more game-changing than we might imagine at this time when its $10-20 billion of projected annual revenue seems quite modest compared to estimates of “traditional” IT services of $200+ billion.<\/p>\n

To support my point, I would encourage you to consider an analogous industry-changer \u2013 the \u201cinvention\u201d of the low-cost airline by Freddy Laker in the late 1970s. Laker Airlines pioneered low-cost airfares, offering pricing at one-third to one-half of the cost of traditional carriers flying across the Atlantic. With only a handful or two of long-range aircraft, Laker broke the industry\u2019s rules, securing permission to compete head-to-head with the likes of British Caledonian, TWA, and Pan Am, among others. Applying innovative operating practices, implementing sacrilegious pricing models, adopting unique sales, and marketing techniques, Laker opened new markets and changed customer buying habits forever. While the early 1980s recession across the U.S. and Europe forced Laker into bankruptcy, the airline industry was changed forever.<\/p>\n

The parallels in today\u2019s IT services market to Laker\u2019s world are quite striking:<\/p>\n