Are the IT dinosaurs dead?

I read about the IBM and TCS layoffs. Everest Group did an interesting analysis of both cases: http://www.everestgrp.com/2015-02-the-truth-in-ibm-and-tcs-layoffs-and-what-it-means-to-services-industry-customers-and-providers-sherpas-in-blue-shirts-16509.html

A short excerpt that I address in this blog:

Both companies recognize that they don’t have enough of the new skills needed for the new digital services markets and both have too much talent in the skills that made them leaders in infrastructure and labor arbitrage – services segments that are now diminishing as customers switch to digital services and new consumption-based models.

One of the current trends is that even the bigger enterprises buy more (cloud) products and develop less custom software. Often, these products are built by specialized teams. During the 90’s and 00’s, you needed SAP to run your enterprise. Today, you are better off with several cloud applications.

Another trend is the rapid change in products and solutions. Companies launch innovative cloud products on a daily basis. A decade ago SAP it was. To stay ahead of competition, we need to monitor all the tools that become available.

This might be the end of the dinosaurs. A big part of the market will be provided by smaller, specialized firms. Companies that built a specialized cloud product. Implementation and support are provided by the same companies or some other smaller integrators.