The Nexus of Forces

This is a very interesting report by Gartner recently issued.

"A Nexus of converging forces — social, mobile, cloud and information — is building upon and transforming user behavior while creating new business opportunities.

 Research over the past several years has identified the independent evolution of four powerful forces: social, mobile, cloud and information. As a result of consumerization and the ubiquity of connected smart devices, people's behavior has caused a convergence of these forces. This user-centric convergence was highlighted at Symposium/ITxpo 2011, where the keynote touched on the story emerging around the Nexus and raised a warning to senior IT leaders: Their existing architectures are becoming obsolete"

While this is well worth reading, keep in mind that the basic assumption behind this analysis is that the consumerization of the economy is sustainable. This is an assumption that I'm not all sure is true. But, we've demonstrated no strong candidate to replace it, and we seem to have limited desire to change. As we concentrate more and more wealth at the top, we are destroying the consumer market.

And, there are smaller assumptions like, "Through the window in their palm, they are never alone, never lost, and never bored." I seriously doubt that this statement is true.

And, they confuse complicatedness with complexity. "Most technology goes through cycles of development and change in both internal and external complexity. Often, the very first device is simple, but crude. As the device undergoes the early stages of development, its power and efficiency improve, but so does its complexity. As the technology matures, however, simpler, more effective ways of doing things are developed, and the device becomes easier to use, although usually by becoming more complex inside."

So, read it, but with your critical thinking hat on.

The Nexus of Forces: Foundational Research for the Technical Professional, Chris Howard, David Smith, Daryl Plummer, Yvonne Genovese, David Willis and Jeffrey Mann, Gartner, Inc., June 22, 2012