THE INTERNET—FROM WHENCE IT CAME Never before has there been a medium that has had such a profound, dramatic, and rapid effect on our society and culture, and the way we conduct business, in such a short time. Not since the invention of electricity, flight, the wheel, and perhaps gunpowder has there been a technology that has been accepted so quickly. The Internet has sprung almost from nowhere and burst upon society in a few short years. It has been in existence since the early 1970s, but only as a military and academic tool. Probably over 90 percent of users have come to the Internet since 1992, when the World Wide Web (WWW or Web), a key Internet technology became available. But the Internet is much more than just the Web. It has abundant resources in newsgroups and email. The factors that have brought about this boom deserve some further analysis: -
The pursuit of the global economy— Corporations large and small, small businesses, and individuals are now required to seek new markets for goods and services—in areas that they would not have considered 10, or even five, years ago. The Internet is a means for achieving this objective by allowing anyone in any part of the world that has a computer and telephone to communicate with anyone else in the world and conduct business. -
The powerful personal computer— The PC has evolved in power, capacity, and speed, and the cost has dropped considerably since it was first introduced. The Internet would only be available as a corporate and academic tool if the PC had not been invented—access and growth would have been severely limited. Imagine trying to access the Internet via an old-style device or green screen for any length of time. -
Falling communication costs— Cheap, fast communication is a very important part of the equation. Expect to see costs continue to drop and access speeds continue to rise. The newer, faster, and improved Internet services or the Next Generation Internet project that is proposed will be needed sooner, rather than later. Internet access speed is key to future success. We want to access information much faster—by a factor of at least 100. -
User demand— When users demand a service, if the market is large enough, corporations and entrepreneurs supply it. Users want faster and cheaper access to information. They demand to see and experience other cultures; the pursuit of education and knowledge are also driving forces to Internet growth. -
Simpler software— The increased development and widespread availability of good, high-quality software that everyone can use—and can use quickly to find information—is also driving IT growth. -
Support and services— This final, but nonetheless important, category provides much needed support and services to the IT industry in the form of training, call centers, IT consulting, and outsourcing services, to give just as a few examples. This sector of the IT industry has experienced robust growth in recent years due to the ever-increasing sophistication and complexity of applications and the associated infrastructure required to operate them. Twenty years ago, most corporations did not have any formal IT support or services. The Help Desk did not exist. If users had problems, they would simply call up the IT person they knew who could fix the problem. The entire IT services framework has developed in this time. It is perhaps the youngest sector of the overall IT industry. As the complexity of IT applications has grown, the services sector has grown with it, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. The current and future market opportunities for IT consulting, systems integration, IS outsourcing, and IT training services continue to vary by vertical market. Given the voracious worldwide appetite for all things IT, enterprises must graduate from ad hoc assembly of skills and resources to strategic attraction, development, and retention of people who can drive IT services excellence within their enterprise. Those enterprises that are serious about keeping their edge in innovation and learning will focus subsequently in investment funds for IT human capital management. Enterprises that underestimate the need for human capital management will be quickly be surpassed in the market for talent. Three of the biggest growth areas over the next few years will be in outsourcing, administrative outsourcing, and development and integration, all of which are IT services. |
