The technology environment is changing. The change is significant, affecting the basic dimensions with which we measure systems.
The age of "Windows as the center of the universe" has passed. Today, we have multiple environments. The simple universe of one technology has been replaced by a universe of multiple galaxies.
But the change is larger than that. The set of basic elements is changing. In the old world, systems were built from a database, access, and programs written in a specified language. Those "dimensions" of the application defined its "space" in the data center. Vendors were defined by how well they met the needs of the organization in those dimensions.
In the new world, systems are more complex. Instead of a single database, a system may use several. Instead of a single web server, an application may use multiple, depending on the transaction being processed. We use virtualized processors to host servers, and cloud computing to manage the virtualized servers. We no longer think of a system as "a Java application"; we think of it as "a Java, Javascript, SQL, NoSQL, message queues, and some HTML and CSS" system.
Let's look at the big providers:
Microsoft clearly supplies software: Windows, Office, Visual Studio, and many other packages. They are getting into the hardware game. Microsoft has offered hardware for years, in the form of the Microsoft Mouse, the Microsoft Keyboard, and today with the XBOX, the Kinect, and the Surface. They also offer cloud services and content (music, books, and movies).
Google offers some hardware (the Nexus phones and tablets) but also works with manufacturers. They offer the Chromebook hardware that runs their Chrome browser. They offer cloud services. They have also gotten into the music and video markets, with Google play and YouTube.
Amazon.com offers hardware, but only the the form of the Kindle. They do not offer PCs or phones. They have a rich offering of services with their cloud systems.
In this light of hardware, software, services, and content, the other "big names" of the tech world are lacking:
Barnes and Noble offers hardware (Nook tablets and e-readers) and the software to run them, but nothing for development or the office. They offer content but not services.
Facebook offers services and content, but not hardware and software. (This is why the rumor of a Facebook phone keeps returning.) Facebook uses cloud computing for their servers but doesn't offer it to customers. They offer other services, such as a platform for games and an authentication service for web site log-ins.
Yahoo offers services and some (limited) content but not hardware or software.
I'm not claiming that a vendor needs all four of these components to be profitable. IBM and Yahoo are doing rather well. (Barnes and Noble not so much, but that is a problem specific to their market.) But the presence (or absence) of these four components is important, and decides how a vendor can assist a client.
The smart, big vendors are offering all services. The smart, small vendors will offer a carefully selected subset and ensure that they can provide quality. The same goes for candidates. The heavyweights will have expertise in all areas, the middleweights light expertise in all and strength in a few, and the lightweights will be capable in one or two.
The task for vendors (and candidates) is to build their skills along these dimensions, and present them to clients.
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