The word “commodity” owes its origins to the Latin word “commodus”, which simply means “convenient”. The implementation of the term amongst IT professionals is closer to its root than its modern definition: “Something useful that can be turned to commercial or other advantage; an article of trade or commerce; an advantage or benefit.”

In the IT world, a commoditised product is like clothing, and until then it`s like a diamond. Clothing is globally available from many vendors, and so is cheap. Diamonds are expensive and available only from the diamond cartels. If you get them from somewhere else, you`re probably breaking the law. Everyone knows they are just rocks, that the cartels stock-pile to inflate the price, and you could make them cheaply in a factory, but no-one mentions the obvious just in case everyone else laughs at them.

Whether or not a product deserves the label “commodity” – in the IT sense of the word – comes down to perspective. To some, the emperor has no clothes. To others, he`s clothed in diamonds.