Convergence, spurred by mobile devices, is happening at a more profound rate than most realise.
So said Johann Henning, acting MD at Telkom Business, speaking during the ITWeb Mobility Summit at The Forum in Bryanston yesterday.
"Convergence is the result of market and technology evolution, and operators' involvement in that evolution," said Henning.
"The way we consume technology is changing. The devices we are using are also changing. The platforms and providers we get our technology from are changing."
He noted that convergence is happening across all areas of IT, throughout the enterprise.
According to Henning, there is a move towards combining and converging products and services, with service providers driving to converge platforms and differentiate service layers to provide over-arching integrated offers.
As consumers move to converged platforms, the BYOD phenomenon has become a reality that enterprises have to grapple with, requiring organisations to overhaul policies and rethink security on issues like data ownership and management, he observed.
From the turn of the millennium, telecommunications was dominated by fixed devices like telephones and desktop PCs. Following that, there was the era dominated by unsophisticated devices as well as low fixed and mobile data speeds, explained Henning.
From about 2004, mobile broadband was rolled out but 3G devices not Internet-ready, he said, adding that the iPhone was the first true mobile-Internet device that fully utilised 3G capabilities.
"The period also saw mobile operating systems and app stores facilitating the development of mobile apps, including communication apps," Henning said. "Computing was also moving from premise-based to cloud-based at the same time. Now, there is the widespread proliferation of connected-devices."
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