We’re at the mid-mark of the fiscal year, when companies set aside some time to discuss their finances, earnings and profits.  And for the most part, the tech sector is doing well.  Some key companies showed stellar performances, including Apple, Google and Verizon.  Others still beat Wall Street expectations, demonstrating high growth and strong revenue amongst some legacy firms, particularly IBM and EMC.  So what’s going on with these companies that keeps their heads so high above the water, when the economy has yet to recover?

Market effects in tech sector

It’s partially due to the rocky market that some of these companies have been able to thrive.  This is a trend we’ve seen for the past two years now, where cloud applications and services offer less expensive alternatives to businesses seeking refuge under the umbrella of cost savings.  This goes hand-in-hand with a widespread push for efficiency, as many technologies promote the better use of time and resources in order to achieve the same (or more) amount of work.
This set off a cycle that’s spinning pretty quickly around big data and connectivity (or mobility–we’ll use the terms interchangeably for this study), and that cycle is only picking up speed.  Connected devices and expanded cloud storage have enabled the compounding creation of data, which is being archived, filtered and analyzed, at larger capacities, faster than ever.  The growing presence of big data feeds the need for IBM integration, and EMC storage.  Service providers like Verizon are becoming data distributors, leveraging the middle lane for networking and device support.  Platform owners like Apple and Google are building up on either side of the cloud, hitting on enterprise and consumer trends, nurturing the mobile and cloud-based ecosystems.

Last year’s work = this year’s gain

Each of these companies feeds into this cycle, contributing and benefiting in its own way.  And they were prepared, for the most part.  Last year witnessed a strong interest in acquisitions, network and datacenter build outs, providing the support needed to manage a dominant presence at the top of the food chain.  Starting at the storage end, EMC took in Greenplum and has already reaped the rewards, strengthening EMC’s core and positioning it for the industry’s long haul.  Several others have since followed suit, signalling an ongoing need to store and archive the mounting data of the world. HP and Dell even had an epic battle over 3PAR; a testimony to the expectations of what tomorrow’s industry will need.

IBM’s also been buttering up its software and services ends, as virtualization becomes key in consolidating business processes.  From storage systems to analytics services, IBM’s hedging its bets on big data.  Earlier this year Big Blue set aside $100 million for big data initiatives, and the company’s been heavy on intelligent data processing, from cloud computing to city transit systems.   The two biggest drivers in IBM’s Q2 earnings were software and services, proving IBM’s efforts are paying off.  Hardware sales are still high for IBM, but it’s certainly anticipating the shift in market strategies, pouring a lot of resources into what lies ahead.

Mobility’s been a huge boon for carriers, manufacturers and platform owners alike.  Verizon’s been intent on toppling AT&T’s network, building out its 4G technology, gaining iPhone seller rights and amplifying on the Android side.  It’s a killer combination that Verizon’s looking to leverage, and each side of its business can be played a different way.

Competing with AT&T on network and data delivery means connected consumers will come to Verizon for the quality of service (the network side is an area Sprint is lacking, and shares are dropping as a result).  From there, Verizon’s able to offer top sellers such as the iPhone and iPad, which have now branched into a couple different price points to widen consumer appeal.  Android is a special beast for Verizon, as the carrier can play middle man on nearly every front.  From specialized application stores to payment processing, Verizon gets some kickback for a good portion of Android-related consumer activity.

Apple and Google are both working on their mobile operating systems, which are the launch points for a myriad of products and services.  With strong mobile app stores, dominant device sales and a hungry consumer base, mobile is a central hub that extends across several areas.  There’s the enterprise and consumer cloud, location-oriented search and services and advertising.  These main buckets cover applications for things like document creation, management and sharing, media storage and cross-device access, team collaboration, hyperlocal marketing and other areas we haven’t yet dreamed up.

The big data/mobility circle of life

As you can see, mobility is really a catalyst for the creation of big data, driving the demand for storage and analysis of both structured and unstructured data.  This has provided fresh opportunities for companies like IBM, while further developing a market around EMC’s wealth of cloud services.  This trend will only continue as mobility finds new ways of attracting users.  But this bets the question: what’s in it for the users?

When you look at the consumerization of IT, there’s a few different things going on.  There’s the mobile worker, there’s the personal media hub, there’s on-demand content streaming and a major shift in the way consumers interact with brands.  In every regard, the storage sector must respond to these changes that are taking place at the consumer level.  Most of what happened in the enterprise sector these past 10 years or so is now spreading across the consumer landscape, which is an expected occurance for the majority of products and services available to consumers these days.  What’s interesting in this phenomenon as it pertains to the tech sector is how much more power it puts in the consumers’ hands.

Smartphones, which are so much more like computers than those handsets we were all using a mere 5 years ago, have now become the feature phones.  Nearly everyone has access to a smartphone, and from there, more consumers are able to access information that would’ve been otherwise unavailable or increasingly more difficult to connect with.  In the African American and Latino demographics, these groups are pushing online growth and smartphones are oftentimes the sole source of internet access.  And for consumers at large, smartphones are becoming our primary point-and-click cameras, storing photos, songs and videos, and enabling instant access to even more media, just by streaming directly from the cloud.

This growing demand for computerized handhelds means that workers are bringing these devices to the office whether the boss likes it or not.  Some bosses are glad to have powerful gadgets that have the ability to make workers more productive, positioning mobility as an attractive way to lure in tech savvy employees from Gen Y.  Of course, there’s the matter of network security, forcing IT to deal with a widening array of devices now wanting to connect to the office’s network.

The need for a unified system

When it comes to managing both ends of consumerized IT in the workplace, there’s an opportunity to centralize an operating system for both consumers and the enterprise.  As Wikibon Senior Analyst David Floyer points out, Apple, Google and Microsoft are well positioned for this.  And each  of these companies is steadfast on developing an entire ecosystem around mobility and the cloud, appealing to the masses and enterprise alike.

But there’s still the matter of these semi-silo ecosystems, pumped by corporations that have their own interests in mind.  This only creates more opportunities for cloud platforms, some that work for businesses, others that deal on the consumer level, and many that factor in the overlap between both of these sectors.  Companies like SugarSync anticipate a great deal of engagement and interactivity within the cloud, as users will want to manage it as easily as they do their home file system or computer desktop.  There’s new trends to consider, such as direct sharing, social network integration, and privacy.  Combined with the emerging perspective on mobility, SugarSync, Dropbox, Springpad, Evernote, Box and all the others have a cross-platform, cross-device opportunity to bridge the gaps.

What’s important here is where the unification will happen, and what standards will come of it.  Those companies that are successfully feeding this big data/mobility cycle are looking to cover as much of that cycle as possible, and they remain the strongest in the market.  We’ll see how this cycle continues to grow, where the biggest market opportunities crop up, and how big data will continue to affect our economy as mobility touches billions of lives around the globe.