The growing trend for low-cost computing and communication between a range of devices is putting pressure on companies to drive down costs and keep up with accelerated technological change, according to James Hall, managing partner, Accenture Technology Business Solutions.
Hall, who met the media during a trip to SA this week, says the next decade will bring goods that are always on, aware and active. Accenture calls it uCommerce - a continuous, seamless stream of transactions, communications, content and services which is ubiquitous, untethered by lines and wires and unbounded by geographical borders.
Accenture`s view is that uCommerce is the new wave encompassing and amplifying previous waves - such as e-commerce, m-commerce, wireless, interactive and silent commerce.
Hall points out that silent commerce is already closer than people think - considering the widespread use of tagging and sensor technologies, low-energy radio wave communication and invisible, imminent connectivity.
This silent commerce is being driven by rapidly declining chip and reader prices, the Internet`s ability to connect devices and data, security issues, product handling regulations and increased need for consumer insight. When silent commerce combines with intelligent objects that have the ability to reason and communicate, the result will be uCommerce.
"The new wave of uCommerce will begin with closed wall solutions within businesses," says Hall, "but it is likely to spread quickly to products intended for consumer use. We are heading for a world of ubiquitous commerce, where a range of devices are in constant communication with each other, and the major users of the Internet are devices - not people."
Keeping up with the inevitable demand for these intelligent devices will put pressure on IT companies to eliminate costs, says Hall. This cost burden is likely to drive technical development offshore to lower-cost development centres in the Philippines, Vietnam, India and possibly even Africa.
"We are also seeing significant growth in the outsourcing industry as companies rush to stay ahead," says Hall. "Business transformation outsourcing allows for a collaborative relationship between a company and its outsource business partner that creates high-performance support operations and drives enterprise transformation. Outsourcing is more than a cost eliminator - it can also be a mechanism to drive change," he concludes.
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