In the first phase
Companies will create services and platforms that augment their existing offers. The participants in the cloud services supply chain that includes vendors, aggregators, and resellers may adopt substantially similar early strategies as they hurry to be in-market with something.
As the competition accelerates
Many companies will find their core products quickly commoditized and will be forced to be more creative. They will source more innovation externally in order to layer value on their existing services in an effort to retain customers and improve revenue. Customer segmentation will become more pronounced and more companies will focus on verticals.
The finish line
The end state will will greatly benefit businesses of all sizes. Companies will become intimately familiar with how employees and customers interact with technology. User experiences will get better. It will be easier to start and manage businesses with intuitive applications designed specifically for them - that are integrated, scalable, and on-demand. Best of breed will mean "best of breed for my company, integrated, and delivered on demand."