Why are everyone talking about SDP or Service Delivey Platforms?

During a dinner yesterday I called SDP dead as it is not a generic component. It is rather a philosophy on how to deliver services than a ready steady platform. So from now on it is more correct calling it SDE, Service Delivery Environment, or SDF, Service Delivery Framework, as TM Forum.

Listening to ICIN 2008 Keynote speakers David Pecota, Microsoft, and Augustin Nunez, Open Movilforum, they focus on how to deliver services to customers. David was talking about the converged lifestyle. Users are using telecommunictions in all kinds of possible ways thinkable seamless over telco networks and internet. Delivering services supporting a converged lifestyle means that a service should work across networks and services should be aware of each other. The question is what are users ready to pay for a converged lifestyle?

I think that Augustin was spot on when answering the question with an open telecom transforming from channel to the open sea. Users are not willing to pay for the converged lifestyle itself. However, they will use the open telecom services/enablers to mashup new services. As they are doing this and paying for these mashed-up services they are actually creating the converged lifestyle. So the answer is to expose the different services like IP-TV and let the users create the convergence and inclusion in their lifestyle.

Low cost to fail for which convergence is actually asked for and customer willing to pay for.