Trivergence: A New Architecture for Networked Devices

Over the past decade service providers have extended wireless network access to nearly every populated point on earth. The original purpose of this buildout was to support the burgeoning mobile communications industry.

But once in place, device makers of all stripes realized that they could tap into this nearly ubiquitous network to enhance the capabilities of their own products. Sun Microsystems is predicting that there will be 17 billion devices linked to the net by 2012.

Managing 17 billion networked devices is a non-trivial undertaking. The bandwidth may be in place, but the management structure is still being worked out.

Accenture is at the forefront in developing a new architecture for supporting networked devices. We call this architecture “Trivergence”, as it focuses on the integration of devices, user controls and data centers.

Thanks to the presence of networking, user controls can now be located far from the actual device. And we are seeing a migration of device controls to the PC or cellphone screen where they are both more accessible and more convenient. We call these virtual controls “SoftPanels.”

The data center associated with trivergence is still in its early stages of development. Most early adapters have developed their own backend systems to mediate between their devices and SoftPanels. Going forward, we expect to see more generalized solutions gain traction in this area – possibly from the likes of Google or Microsoft, or from telecommunications firms in the form of advanced service delivery platforms.

Andy Zimmerman’s Trivergence Blog

Accenture Outlook Article: You Say “Convergence”; We Say “Trivergence”

Presentation: 2005 Convergence Forum

While Accenture coined the word Trivergence, we were not the first to implement it. In fact, several companies have independently invented and implemented Trivergence to solve problems specific to their own products. For example:

• Apple’s iPod is tightly integrated with iTunes, which resides on both the user’s PC and the Web, and with Akamai’s server network for content delivery.

• TiVo’s set-top box links to both cable networks the Internet, and displays its controls on either the TV or PC.

• Medtronic is adding WiFi connectivity to its new line of pacemakers that downloads their readings to a Website accessible to both the patient and his or her doctor.

• General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, maker of the Predator unmanned aircraft, uses a satellite network that enables Air Force pilots in Nevada to fly missions over Iraq and Afghanistan.

• Both Kodak and Nikon have recently introduced digital cameras that route their images to the owner’s PC when they sense a WiFi hotspot.

Trivergence is still in its infancy. In the coming years we can expect it to enhance many existing devices and to facilitate a whole new generation of devices that – up to now – we could only dream about.

The first-generation applications of Trivergence have been one-off solutions. That is, each company developed its own end–to-end systems to solve a specific and presumably unique problem.

As networked devices become more diverse and more commonplace two things are likely to become apparent:

• That the solution set will turn out to be less unique than originally thought and a set of standards for device network interfaces, data management and SoftPanels will emerge.
• That users are demanding interoperability among devices – thereby ushering in a new era of competition for “universal” data centers and SoftPanels.

Trivergence poses both challenges and opportunities to a wide range of companies and industries.

Device makers have traditionally designed “within the box” – that is, their product was what you could hold in your hands. But their products are now bursting “out of the box” to encompass networking, data centers, and remote user interfaces (or SoftPanels). These companies must broaden their core competencies – through internal development, acquisitions or alliances – to remain viable players in their markets.

Faced with a proliferation of new network-based distribution channels, content owners must develop new strategies for delivering their products to users, regardless of time, location, and device. They must find a balance between haphazard release of content and content that is so encumbered with digital rights management that consumers shun their offerings. They must also standardize and streamline their business terms and operations to accommodate a diverse group of intermediaries for selling, distributing and playing their products.

Service Providers must take steps to assure that they are players in Trivergence. As noted earlier, most companies that have introduced Trivergence-based products to date have designed their own end-to-end solutions using commodity networking – or “just pipe” as they say in the industry. If the telephone and cable companies hope to benefit from the expected growth in networked devices, they must embed revenue-producing value-added services into their networks. The Service Delivery Platforms that these companies are now building to distribute proprietary content to their cellphone and IPTV customers could provide a foundation for a more general set of services targeted to all networked devices.

Companies that now operate Web portals – such as Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! – may also emerge as key players in the buildout of Trivergence. These companies already have huge, efficient data centers, and they have a competence in building user interfaces. It remains to be seen if they will broaden their attention from information to devices.

Andy Zimmerman’s Trivergence Blog

Accenture Outlook Article: You Say “Convergence”; We Say “Trivergence”

Presentation: 2005 Convergence Forum