'open' systems

IBM VC calls for 'open' hardware
and it makes some sense, once you realize that the shared capital costs can be recouped by value add services. There is lots of scope for differentiation at the services level, the benefits of trusted shared hardware, basically a risk free set of core functionality, free our minds to concentrate on the more intangible and valuable business benefit issues.

Surely this will evolve into complete systems, where the core functions are well proven and shared collaborations and where the extremities or business interfaces provide the 'localization' and real differentiated value.

In the same way the hardware IP needs to be validated, so will core functional systems, the sort of stuff that the early technologies adaptors have worked hard to develop. The market followers can adopt the experience (IP) of the early adaptors once there is some reasonable method to validate the benefit of an existing proven solution.