The World Wide Web, The Internet and The Cloud

The World Wide Web, The Internet and The Cloud

In 1983 ARPANET adopted the TCP/IP protocol for what was then called the ‘network of networks.’  Seven years later, computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, or what we would later refer to as the Internet.

As a backbone for connectivity, the Internet initially allowed stand-alone PC’s to share data.  This sharing required users to define themselves and on-line security protocols to be developed.  With this base of identity, control and access, what came next was a equivalent to an digital terraform, where entire societies of virtual personalities began to interact without geographical or societal constraints.  The Internet provided the third component of the Intelligence Age: Collaboration.

Commercial use of the Internet quickly took hold in the early 1990’s, initially with static promotion sites that evolved into today’s on-line marketing, underground and non-traditional communication that later became on-line media and basic transactioning that became grew into what we call today’s eCommerce.  Corporations later adopted Intranets, secured web sites with limited access for internal communications while individual users found new ways to interact via social networking.

In August 2006, internal and external usage collided into the current version of the Internet.  During an Internet industry conference, Google CEO Eric Schmidt dusted off a 1960’s telephony term to describe a vision of unexpurgated access to information, processing and collaboration by both consumers and business on any mobile device of their choosing.  Thus “the Cloud” was born as both a web-based architecture and a global Internet marketing term.

Now…The Intelligence Age

Now…The Intelligence Age

While the Information Age matured over the past three decades, futurists, scientists and engineers have envisioned a time where computing technology could work predictively.  True, much literature and cinema put this capability in the hands of androids. And, as cool as that will be someday, the nearer future is where computing technologies ranging from our PC’s, tablets, smartphones, automobiles, appliances, etc. begin to act in concert with each other to pre-automate processes on our behalf. Today’s Internet of Things (IoT) is a great example of this approach.  Smart, yes but intelligent, no.

IoT represents a conglomeration of static processes into a unified outcome.  The next iteration of this is the conglomeration of dynamic processes into a unified outcome, based on the formulaic weighting of the fourth component of the Intelligence Age: Fluidity.

Today’s tools do not require any contextual consideration to make an optimized decision. AI, by definition, should include a decision-making process, otherwise it would just be another “smart” device strung in with other static processes.  To make that decision, the computation needs to evaluate inputs, weigh a set of variables and then decide on and orchestrate an event based on the optimal solution of the context, which may change of the time.

Camera’s are an example of IoT. Many people have security cameras in their home, or outside. Today’s cameras are “static”, they might alert you when there’s movement, might start recording at certain times of the day, but by no means are they smart yet along intelligent. Some consumer camera technologies are becoming “smart”, by being able to identify who is in view of the camera – for example you really don’t want to be alerted when you come home, but you do want to know when a stranger approaches the house. This is currently available in expensive business systems, and will make its way into consumer technology. However, the next level is having the camera system integrate into the house system and when it detects you car coming home will open the garage door, unlock the door and disable the alarm system. It’s a combination of the integration between the IoT devices (car, camera, home etc) and the computation ability and their associated algorithms that leads to the fluidity.

The Industrial Age

The Industrial Age

The evolution of commercial and consumer technology has been on an accelerated trajectory. From the 1860’s to the 1960’s, a mere century in the span of humanity, we went from horse-drawn carriages to steam locomotion to flight to landing on the moon.  The activities that define the Industrial Age were investments and advancements lent to the mass production and distribution of common items, initially crude elements like coal, oil and lumber and later packaged goods and prefabricated products, including automobiles.

But alongside these manufacturing improvements came process improvements, communications capabilities and many of the other attributes that we now take for granted in our personal and work lives.  The single-most impactful of these inventions was the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell’s invention created the first component of the Intelligence Age: Communication.

Prior to the telephone, social communication was conducted through formal correspondence – letters, memorandum and telegraphs – that conveyed specific intents, actions and consequences.  That formality even drove our personal interactions, which even the most spontaneous of included the etiquette of the day.

The telephone changed all that, providing a channel for individuals to connect with each other to interact, inform and communicate on a whim.  In the early 1900’s, the telephone evolved from a business device to a household device. Today it’s almost a fashion accessory where nearly every individual in modern societies has one for all types of fluid communications.

How we got here

How we got here

Without a doubt, the two most important inventions in modern time are the telephone and the personal computer.  Each tool helped usher in a new age of technology and change the face of business and our personal lives. As we migrate to the Intelligence Age, it makes sense to take a moment to evaluate how we got here.

The Digital Bridge

The Digital Bridge

Widespread personal and commercial use of the Cloud is now commonly being referred to as a Digital Experience.  This term has a variety of interpretations.  Some practitioners focus on the devices used, including mobile, tablet and browser.  Others look at digital from an interactive perspective, both social and corporate collaboration.  While yet another look at digital from a transactional perspective, like on-line shopping and on-line annual benefits enrollment.

They couldn’t be more wrong.

Whereas all these features are part of today’s on-line experience, they describe Internet and Intranet capabilities that have been in place for over a decade.  And the single commonality of all our technological experiences since the dawn of the mainframe is that they require users to access technologies to get information, conduct processes and engage with others.

Digital Experiences are different.  Digital technologies proactively push information to the user versus waiting for users to come get it.   Digital processes provide needed actions to users without them looking for them.

Consider this example:

You have just gone through airport security and are headed to your gate.  When you get there, you see a different flight is boarding. You look at the hotel monitors (off-line experience) and see that your new gate is across the airport in another terminal.  You rush to the new gate and pull up your phone (on-line experience) to confirm the departure time. You rush in hopes of making your flight.

Or.

While going through security, you receive a text saying your gate has changed and you take action accordingly.

The first scenario shows how both on-line and off-line technologies are available for a user to find key information needed to make a decision and take action.  The second example describes how digital technologies are different. Digital Experiences are a push of timely, relevant, personalized insight to the device of your choosing to enable decision making and action.  Digital technologies enable the fifth and final component of the Information Age: Personalization.