In the future, you never really leave the cloud! Who would want to log off of their life?
by ~ontherxs written 12/2010 more relevant today than ever
We are seeing an unprecedented shift in the way individuals interact with their digital lives and by extension their data. The expanding adoption of technology by what were only years ago non-technology people, coupled with a rising generation that sees their first language as typing, has led to a shift in who is calling the shots on access. The driving factor in determining what devices are popular is being decided on the front lines by the companies that are getting content into the hands of consumers in the most efficient ways that fit their lives. For the business enterprise, this is translating into a situation where workers are taking control of the ability to dictate their physical interface to data. The sun is setting on the enterprises ability to impose access solutions (laptop, desktop, etc) that are not fully compatible with a users non-work life or similarly, denying users the ability to use their personal devices within the enterprise.
I like to look at what the next few years may look like for the end user content consumer and as a result, where the enterprises may find themselves in short order.
Here are some thought/predictions.
1) TV is dead - Time Shift/Place Shift have empowered personal preference over what is mandated at primetime.
2) Content is king - content is data, data will be accessible regardless of the users physical interface.
3) Your digital life will exist in the cloud.
As you begin to see content consumption shift to purpose built devices, we are also seeing these devices becoming much more similar to each other. They are, at their core, only a method to access your cloud based data. In developed countries and increasingly in developing countries, three things will continue to drive this adoption now and into the future.
1) Nearly everyone carries around access to the internet in their pockets – internet access is quickly becoming a new basic civil right
2) For even the novice data consumer, voice/and video are now almost entirely looked at as just services of that same internet (ref. Vonage or magic jack). Shortly cell minutes will be entirely replaced with tiered data only plans and unlimited VOIP.
3) Social connections drive communication and as a result, the more connected we become we feed an instinctual addiction to connect anywhere at any time. Without consciously trying, our instinctual behavior is to connect to our digital life and by extension, our real lives to the cloud.
So what does this have to do with Chrome? Technology devices are moving toward being merely physical portals to our digital lives. Your choice will come down to two things:
1) Does the form factor address your use case?
2) Which device gets you most easily and quickly to the content provider of your choice.
Those companies that produce device portals that are elegant in their simplicity of use and have the most choice of access to content (including corporate enterprise resources) will be the leaders. And of those, the ones who provide the widest choice among the two factors – usability and access will win.
Eventually when deciding you may only be asked -
Do you need a keyboard?
Do you need it to fit in your pocket?
Do you need it to connect to you large screen TV?
Do you need it to address physical handicap?
And eventually you will ask –
Why can’t access this information with my car’s dashboard?
Why can’t I start a document from my laptop and finish it on my TV?
Why can’t I flick an electronic document to everyone’s device that is currently in my meeting including the projector?
This is why the chrome device is much more than just another Netbook. It is a working manifestation of the future of computing (regardless of your physical portal you will have access to the content, data, and tools to manipulate or create both by way of the cloud). Looking at adoption even over the last 10 years you’ll recall that only a few years ago, the only way for most people to get access to a computer or a cell phone was at work. Those days have passed. Now and into the future the enterprise will find itself having to adjust to the user driving the interface decisions and having to adapt access to their networks and data security to match the new human requirement for ubiquitous access.
Sure it’s true that today we have issues of the internet not always being available, power users that require more cycles, and business that have some specific non-cloud based needs but this is rapidly changing and will continue to do so at ever increasing pace.
This provides us an unprecedented landscape of security related questions and solutions. It positions us to be the trusted advisors as our current and future clients begin to tackle these challenges. Make no mistake, it’s not a question of if but when.
This holiday try this little test and let me know your results. You probably know the outcome but it’s still very interesting to try.
Ask the following two questions to your parents:
1) Where do go first if you want to know the latest headlines?
2) Where do you go to view photos?
Now ask the same two of your spouse or friend. Now ask them of high school or college student.
In the future, you never really leave the cloud! Who would want to log off of their life?
Just my point-of-view and man is it an exciting time to be in data security!
Thanks for tuning in!
photo credit forgottenxt via diviantart
