Is Information Technology Becoming a Commodity?

I've been reading Does IT Matter? by Nicholas Carr. He argues that IT is going to go the way of railroads, electricity, etc. Meaning that information technology will become a commodity...a cost of doing business. In my opinion a lot of factors have to fall into place for this situation to occur.

First, availability of broadband Internet services has to be cheap, reliable, and less prone to hacker attacks. I think we're a long way toward this end. Look at Internet service today versus 5 years ago. When's the last time your ISP was down compared to then? ISPs, especially commercial providers, are extremely reliable today. Additionally their costs are reasonable...though I think that broadband service could come down a bit. One of the core problems with Internet service is hacker vulnerability. From an Internet connected server standpoint we're still living in the Wild West. As server vulnerabilities are reduced and overall service improves, the Internet component of the transition of IT from strategic player to commodity will be solved.

Aside from improvements to Internet services, companies have to be willing to adopt standard ways of transferring information to each other. EDI has been around for years, but ask any EDI support person and they will tell you that each trading partner has a unique setup. XML offers hope, but it too has the same issues to deal with. A recent ComputerWorld article EDI Alive and Well After All These Years makes the point that companies aren't quickly moving away from EDI to XML. Instead, they are moving away from Value Added Networks (VANs) to FTP transfers and Internet standards for delivering EDI documents.

What makes electricity so attractive to businesses (and individuals) is that once it reaches the building, the breaker panel(s) control and parcel out the appropriate voltages. Then it becomes a matter of making sure that you have the right piece of equipment, appliance, etc. plugged into the right plug (with the right plug configuration of course). The same needs to happen with information transfers before they can be considered a commodity.

Hardware and software have to become more simplified for the end user. An example of this would be a phone. I daresay in developed countries almost everyone over the age of 3 knows how to use a phone. Whether it's a cell phone or a land-line, the average person can turn it on, dial a number, and have a conversation without much problem. Computers are not quite that simple. If you're in the IT field, how many times have you been called on to help a friend or family member with a PC problem? How often have executives in your company tried the latest high-tech gadget only to find it complex and confusing? Let's face it, interactions with computer hardware and software must improve before information technology becomes a commodity.

Let's talk about software for a moment. It can be argued that as more companies move away from in-house developed packages to so called "off-the-shelf" packages that they will become more standardized with other companies. On the surface it appears to be a valid point. In reality, today's ERP, finanical, WMS packages, whatever, have a tremendous amount of conifgurability for your organization. This means that although you and nearest competitor are running the same package, both of your implemenations can vary significantly depending on the customizations. The point, individual software implementations are a long way from being standard.

So back to the original question, is Informatiion Technology becoming a commodity? I think that parts of it such as Internet access are. But, I also think that we have a long, long way to go before IT becomes a commodity.