The future internet
I nternet the global system of interconnected computer networks that serve billions of users worldwide is going for a big boom. Web overlord Cisco has made some startling projections about internet usage and particularly how we’ll use the web over the next 4 years. Cisco states that the number of internet connected devices is set to grow exponentially over the next 4 years to a total of over 15 billion, more than twice the current world population. By that time, Cisco claims over 40% of the world’s (projected) population will be online, a massive 3 billion people, moving some 996 Exabyte every year. This significant level of traffic growth is driven by five key factors:
- An increasing number of devices: The proliferation of tablets, mobile phones, and other smart devices as well as machine-to-machine (M2M) connections are driving up the demand for connectivity. By 2016, the forecast projects there will be nearly 18.9 billion network connections – almost 2.5 connections for each person on earth – compared with 10.3 billion in 2011.
- More Internet users: By 2016, there are expected to be 3.4 billion Internet users – about 45 percent of the world’s projected population according to United Nations estimates.
- Faster broadband speeds: The average fixed broadband speed is expected to increase nearly fourfold, from 9 megabits per second (Mbps) in 2011 to 34 Mbps in 2016.
- More video: By 2016, 1.2 million video minutes – the equivalent of 833 days (or over two years) – would travel the Internet every second.
- Wi-Fi growth: By 2016, over half of the world’s Internet traffic is expected to come from Wi-Fi connections.
“The Web lifestyle.” characterized by rapid innovations in applications is going for a big change. Ground-breaking technologies will emerge to open the door to the future for businesses that want to use technology to grow into the next decade of the 21st century? A lot of businesses are adopting the cost-saving virtualization and cloud computing trends in order to move into the green IT zone. Green IT is helpful through cutting costs from administration, power usage, and maintenance that in the past have been a hurdle for organizations seeking to grow and upgrade to the next level of technology. Being able to utilize SaaS and cloud computing services will slowly but surely grow into the future as the technology becomes more secure and more reliable.
The successful companies of the next decade will be the ones that use digital tools to reinvent the way they work. These companies will make decisions quickly, act efficiently and directly touch their customers in positive ways. Adopting a learning posture rather than a negative defensive posture can make customer complaints your best source of significant quality improvements. Adopting the right technology will give you the power to capture and convert complaints into better products and services fast.
Community building is going to be one of the biggest growth areas in the next few years on the Web. The Web dramatically increases the number of communities you can bond to. In the Web lifestyle, you are limited only by your interests. With such rapid growth, there is great potential for further opportunity in social media marketing, search engine optimization, and paid search as more new users from all corners of the globe come online with many more devices. If you’ve been wondering how to tap into this Internet boom you’ve got to learn how relationships are built online and capitalize on it. There are no lone rangers online. Collaborate your activities between the different platforms maximizing existing strategies and utilizing new social platforms and technologies that are yet to be created.