Borderless Connectivity

Again...somehow, to distill this great 21st century business transformation and what it portends for businesses and individuals, I decided to open up the screen on my notebook and reached out my friends from South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore and China; to bring up-to-the boring discussion about technology and life. Although we were continents apart, somehow, we were virtual office mates through our many collaborations using the Net and Skype Internet telephone, messaging and file sharing (total cost of collaborating this way? $ Zero). Such intimate interaction with individual knowledge workers, scattered around the globe, wasn't possible before the world was wired, and gives you a hint of what is collaboration without borders. And I use this technology to communicate as well with my love, Rachael in China - no hassle.

Well, consider this amazing fact - last year, mobile phones drew nearly 2 million new users(?) every day. 2008 will see the global mobile user base cross 5-6 billion(?). In comparison, the installed base of computers is about 800 million (ref. from an online journal). The contrast is even more stark in the emerging markets. By 2008-end, Asia will have about 50 million computers, and over 100 million mobiles. China has 80 million computers and around 400 million mobiles. Any way one slices it, for an increasing majority, the mobile phone will be their first - and only - computing device. What is interesting is that the mobile is always-on, always-available and a personal device. Never before in our lives have more than two of these conditions been met - and now suddenly, all three are met - simultaneously. This makes possible all kinds of new applications.

Other, for the most part, voice has been carried separately from data, while video has had its own network. Now, it is all changing as next-generation networks built around IP at their core, and voice and video are digitised. Voice becomes yet another application - as is already happening with VoIP, and network TV shifts to networked TV. IMS, MPLS and SIP are some of the building blocks for these networks. This triple play jargon is becoming a quadruple play with the integration of mobility. For example, in the future, consumers can experience Multimedia Communications Services features over their televisions, including the ability to answer email, instant messages and conduct a teleconference - all from the comfort of a living room sofa. Users in the future also will be able to access their subscription television service from multiple different devices instead of just their home TV. Next question - When in Asia and how much?

For all of us in Asia long-used to dial-up and unreliable Internet access, hope is at hand. This world of occasionally-connected computing is giving way to always-on connectivity over DSL and cable. In addition, the 2.5G and 3G wireless networks also ensure that our mobile phones are also always connected. The other thread is the increasing availability of bandwidth. Even as users in South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong experience affordable multi-megabit access, this will extend to other markets also. And change life and lifestyles forever. In an always-on world, data and applications can reside in the cloud, and we as users can access the information we need from the device we want independent of location. This has been talked about for long, but the next few years are seeing the mix of access devices and networks to bring us truly ubiquitous and pervasive connectivity.

Carpediem! (seize the day!)