When the global connectivity industry chose TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) as its next-generation protocol, it opened Pandora’s Box. The industry does not presently like the business changes IP was wrought, but can hardly deny that it chose the platform willingly.
The key problem is disintermediation, the removal of distributors and “middle men” from value chains. In a loosely-coupled ecosystem, participants operate in “layers” or disaggregated roles, much as software can run on a compliant platform without a formal business relationship with the platform or operating system.
Think of the way modern software runs on compliant hardware, operating systems or networks: so long as the agree-upon interfaces are in place, software, hardware and networks can work seamlessly, without formal business relationships.
Disintermediation is at the heart of the promise and period of a wide range of potentially-huge new enablers of business and economic life, including blockchain, cryptocurrencies, distributed finance and distributed autonomous organizations.
One example of this is the direct supply of services to enterprises that otherwise might have been provided by a connectivity provider. A recent survey by TelecomTV illustrates the concern. Some 44 percent of respondents believe an inability to compete with the major cloud firms in the enterprise services sector is a major issue.
That’s a classic example of disintermediation.
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