Third platform (the 3rd platform)

The third platform (the 3rd platform, the Third platform - engl.) - the well-aimed term offered by analysts of IDC for the description of a new paradigm of development of the computer industry. According to experts of the company, mainframes, powerful servers which allowed to estimate widely power and possibilities of computer calculations were the "first" platform of a computer era. In the 90th years of last year the market of computers evolved: to the forefront there was the "second" platform - personal computers.

The "third" platform, according to IDC, will define a landscape of the computer industry for the next years. The third platform includes four fundamental blocks: mobile devices, social technologies,cloud computing (cloud computing) and Big Data (big data).

The forecast for 2014

In December, 2013 IDC made the next forecast^[1], having designated the main milestones of development of the industry of IT for 2014. Key influence on the market, according to analysts, in 2014 will be rendered by the "third platform": pool of the technologies and innovative solutions which are based on mobility, social principles, cloud services, work with data, including their big arrays.

According to Frank Genes (Frank Gens), the vice president and the analyst of IDC, influence of the third platform on the market was felt in 2013, and in the following behind it – one and all large vendors invest in development of products on a joint of the technologies mentioned above that will define development of the industry neither more nor less on the next a couple of decades. And the third platform will have the strongest influence on development of all industries, not only information technologies.

So, if in general, according to forecasts of IDC, in 2014 world IT expenses grow by 5% to $2.1 trillion, then expenses on the third platform will increase in annual comparison by 15%, on them 89% of all growth of IT costs is necessary. For comparison, the PC market will save negative dynamics: it will be-6% in comparison with 2013.

As for technologies, the value and attention of consumers will begin to be displaced "up": from IaaS to PaaS, from PaaS to PaaS with elements of optimization of data. The changing paradigm of the computer industry will deliver "whales" of world IT market of times of domination of "the second platform" in an unenviable position: one and all they will feel instability of business and need to fight for the place in the sun in the IT market changing a landscape. Google also will join the last.

The boom of sales of mobile devices will proceed also in 2014: the sales volume of tablets will increase in comparison with 2013 by 18%, and smartphones – for 12%. Android-kommyyuniti, headed by Samsung, on influence it will become comparable to Apple, and Apple will try to hold the niche, raising prices for products and developing an ecosystem of applications. However the abyss between Google Play (Android) and app store of Apple will actually disappear. It will be a signal and for Microsoft: the companies need to be doubled number of the developers interested in creating applications under Windows.

Costs for cloud solutions, including services and technologies for start of such services, will grow by 25% in 2014 and will make $100 billion. As a result, in IDC expect increase in number of data centers. Expenses on Big Data and services will increase by 30% in 2014, having exceeded of $14 billion. Social technologies will embed more actively in the existing corporate applications in 2014 and the beginning of 2015.

The market will be entered by a large number of new players. Many will build the solutions based on the existing cloud platforms of Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, Salesforce and others. Besides, the third platform will extend out of limits of cloud structures and mobile devices towards Internet of Things that will provoke the conclusion of a set of new technology partnership.

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