Kong v/s Godzilla
And you want subtlety?
I'd say everyone is watching everyone, but I keep getting the feeling that other markets are being overlooked, and that other players outside the US are being ignored. I'm not sure whether this reflects the writers' biases or whether this is also reflected in the boardrooms, but the potential for a fast ramp-up seems to me to be much greater in countries where there is a limited existing infrastructure acting as a drag on investing on new technology. True, we hear about sales in Chinese cities, but surely the easy wins are in hugh swathes of the world where there is no infrastructure and governments are prepared to make the necessary investment.
Similarly, the major European players appear to be well positioned to deal with the less developed world. In some cases there are opportunities to build on historical linkages, language etc. True, the North American market is the largest single market right now, but it isn't bigger than the rest of the world, particularly when you look to future.
Guess this all means that there is plenty of room for all. Godzilla v/s Kong may have some transitory relevance, but the real prizes to be won are in the creation of major blocks which combine all information services to the home or office with content, and links to other services. Microsoft's satellite network, combined with AT&T's ground based wire, Disney's content, Amazon's approach to sales, UPS's approach to delivery, all combined into some super behemoth, probably registered in the Cayman Islands. Companies like Cisco and Nortel will probably evolve into the future equivalent of IT departments for super conglomerates. The various attempts to engender competition will have to move up several conceptual levels to function in a society like that.
Does scare me sometimes. |
