Changing Times in the ICT Supply Chain: Javier Villamizar Looks at Supply Chain Convergence (IT & Electronics‪)‬

The telecommunications and IT/ electronics industries are facing unparalleled changes that are breaking down traditional industry boundaries. Industry players from different backgrounds are all converging on common service and device offerings. Even though convergence has been discussed for a long time, in the last couple of years, customer demand for convergent services, devices and content across different platforms has started to provide real revenue opportunities. On the infrastructure side, IP technology is the catalyst for this disruptive change as convergence brings together previously disconnected networks (cellular, fixed, enterprise, Internet) onto a single IP-based infrastructure, integrating service propositions (triple/quadruple play) and enabling the delivery of services and content virtually "anytime, anywhere, anyhow." Companies are being moved out of their comfort zone, PC makers are looking to find their way onto more "screens" and starting to address the telecommunications business. On the service side, intensifying competition from existing industry players such as the incumbent telecom operators and new market entrants, including cable, ISPs and content providers, has created strong demand for innovation and differentiation at every level in the value chain. Customers are expecting services and content to be available in multiple channels and devices, irrespective of technology. At a time of rapid technology change, these factors add complexity to the existing industry supply chains. It's difficult to imagine success when daily headlines from around the world describe bleak economic outlooks with no foreseeable end in sight. But it's precisely because of today's economic conditions and the changing technology landscape that companies are starting to re-evaluate their supply chain strategies and costs. Although competitors may be shying away from investments and practicing a rationalization and cost cutting approach, companies that want to embrace the convergent technology space are taking a more strategic approach to outsourcing, minimizing assets and spending, maximizing returns and getting much more agility.