Unified Communications.

Google.

"Total convergence". IP Voice, SMS, Office Productivity, Services Google Earth... ... and more... all surrounded by Search... ... ...and more.

Why, Advertising revenue and, they can.

Good Luck,
Peter
April 2009

* http://www.csi1000.com
* http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/speeches/ag080998.htm

Clarification added April 16, 2008:

Francisco.

Andy Grove, has talked about “strategic inflection” points in many of his talks and books, see below a URL to one of his keynotes and an excerpt. I really do not think that we are going to see "the next big disruptive thing" anytime soon. I think that what we have been experiencing, and will continue to experience, is an unprecedented velocity in the introduction of many "inflection points", so many that it is difficult to position them in a way that they can take a foot-hold, and this is because “the next big thing” is “always” around the corner, ready to supplant the previous new technology, so nothing ever get a “foot hold” to grow. What does this mean? The "disruptive shift" is really in the ability to successfully “converge many new technologies” to become useful to the masses, and not to any particular vertical industry, sector, area of the globe etc. That's the next disruptive shift, “thinking”.

Good Luck,
Peter

http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/speeches/ag080998.htm

Let's start with Strategic Inflection Points. They represent, in my description of it, what happens to a business when a major change takes place in its competitive environment. A major change due to introduction of new technologies. A major change due to the introduction of a different regulatory environment. The major change can be simply a change in the customers' values, a change in what customers prefer. Almost always it hits the corporation in such a way that those of us in senior management are among the last ones to notice. I'm paraphrasing the words you used in some of your talk, Peter. But what is common to all of them and what is key is that they require a fundamental change in business strategy, and that's almost a definition of a Strategic Inflection Point. A Strategic Inflection Point is that which causes you to make a fundamental change in business strategy. Nothing less is sufficient.