Information Technology in the 21st Century - The Three Cs of The Internet Age
Mr. Derek Williams
Senior Vice President
Oracle Corporation - Asia Pacific Division
Some things will never change. People will need to communicate. Communities will need to trade. Man will need to continue his quest for knowledge. However, the ways in which these will be done will change significantly. It already has.
But as they say - ' we ain't seen nothin' yet'!
Communications, commerce and content will drive new trends in the 21st Century. Let's look at these, one-by-one:
Wireless - pay attention to this world, as it is set to change your life and the world you live in. Within the next 36 months, there will be more than 1 billion hand-phones in use. That is one-sixth of the world population. These wireless devices, coupled with new standards that are integrating interactive services into mobile communications, will create a new market - mobile commerce or m-commerce for short.
What this means is that your ordinary cell-phones will become your most important transaction and information appliance - not your PC or even the television! The network readiness and mobility of cell-phones, mean that you have access to e-commerce 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year - in your pocket! It will truly change the way we behave as consumers.
With such access, it is anticipated that global e-commerce will grow to a staggering US$9.5 trillion in 2003. In the developing world in particular, wireless devices will drive e-commerce growth. This is mainly due to the fact that such regions, including much of Asia, continue to struggle with physical telecommunications infrastructure.
The wireless revolution has, in fact, started. The mobile telephone is one cornerstone, while the wireless portal is fast emerging as the other. These portals are specially designed to provide content and wireless services.
Recent studies indicate that wireless portals will attract more than 25 million users by the year 2006. I personally believe that this is a very conservative figure. I also believe that growing competition will drive mobile communication costs lower than enable increase usage.
Consumers with web-enabled phones, can now create their own personalised wireless portals. Cell-phones will act as their gateway to movie tickets, taxis, weather reports, dining information, stock trading, grocery shopping, advertising and a world of other applications - much of which have not been conceived yet.
Mobile communications and the emerging portal-to-go technologies will also significantly alter the way people work in the 21st Century. The office is becoming less important. Even today, there are millions of people who telecommute.
In Oracle, we plan our offices with the telecommuting workforce in mind. For example, I do not have a permanent office room. I book a room, every time I get into our regional headquarters in Singapore. Most of my colleagues do the same. We employ a large telecommuting workforce. We work from anywhere, anytime. Without mobile communications and the internet, this would be impossible.
Wireless communications will drive major changes in the way we live, work and play. We need to accept the fact that the revolution has begun and that it is for the better. Our lives will improve vastly over time, due to the choices that wireless technologies offer us. We need to seize this opportunity.
The internet is already changing the way people trade. From stocks to books, from music to computers, from manufactured goods to consulting services - these are all already available on-line in many markets. Yet, the concept of e-business is still in its infancy. But it is evolving rapidly.
The next phase of evolution in on-line trading will concentrate around virtual marketplace, creating unique commercial exchanges. For instance, the automotive industry will have its own exchange. The retail industry will have its own exchange. And so will the manufacturing sector. This trend, in fact, is already taking shape in the US.
Ford, for example has created an AutoXchange which has recently been expanded to include GM and Daimler Benz in a technology partnership with Cisco and Oracle. In retail sector, Sears and Carrefour have joined forces, again with Oracle, to create GlobalNetXchange - an open on-line trading community for the global retail marketplace.
Similarly every industry will have a commercial exchange, creating a universe of on-line commercial exchanges - much like that we find in the physical world today.
It is within such business-to-business and business-to-consumer relationships that the true benefits of an Internet Economy will be realised. Such benefits will be derived from end-to-end implementation of new management techniques such as customers relationship management, supply chain management and strategic enterprise management. This will result in increased efficiencies, expanded markets and better customer retention.
These exchanges will create business relationships that are almost impossible in the physical world. In the virtual business world, distance is irrelevant but time is of essence. Companies, irrespective of their geographical location, may bid to become suppliers if they have the ability to deliver quality goods, for the most preferred pricing, at the right time. Conversely, a purchaser may now, with a click of the mouse, look for suppliers from across the globe. Imagine doing this is the physical world, without the Internet!!
With more than 13 million registered websites and in excess of 1 billion web pages, no man can ever hope to have traversed through the World Wide Web without being overwhelmed. We have become so vulnerable in this virtual world. But it will not stop here. The web will continue to be spun. Content will keep increasing. And man will feel more lost than ever.
But what is exciting is that the race is creating new types of content that will be more appealing to mankind. We have, to date, dealt largely with static content. But the world of dynamic content is just beginning.
We are seeing today how audio, visual, spatial and textual data streams are coming together to create a world of cognitive or intuitive content.
Such content will be more relevant to the user, as it will ride on the person's behavioural pattern. Knowledge of consumer behaviour and preferences will be key to developing such content. For instance, from the buying patterns of a person - his or her credit card company can predict the customer's preferences. This knowledge could drive the credit card company to quickly assemble and pump unique content to the cardholder, enticing him or her towards preferred products or services - at the right time.
Gradually, generic content will give way to personalised content. Such highly relevant personalised content, with right timing, can drive consumer behavior. Imagine the benefits of such in-depth knowledge of consumer wants and needs. Movie makers can cut specialised films for groups of similar interest, across the globe - with a higher success rate. Fashion designers can cater to specific demands of their clientele. And car manufacturers can build models that their customers are truly in search of. Such personalised relationships introduce a high degree of pro-activity into business. In such a scenario, securing the consumer profile, is as important as knowing the type of content that will yield the desired returns.
Ladies and gentlemen, times are changing. Technology in the 21st Century will move closer to mankind. It will blend into our lifestyle. As a result, we will communicate better; leverage the world of commerce; and interact with more relevant content.
Therein, in my mind, lies a huge opportunity for the Pacific Basin. In all the three areas of Communication, Commerce and Content, business and developmental opportunities are abundant. The knowledge-base of the Pacific Basin in 'The Three Cs Of The Internet Age' is overwhelming. So is its business and socio-economic potential. This leads me to believe that regional cooperation between the players in the Pacific Basin needs to be encouraged further - especially in the joint development of the Three Cs.
On Oracle's part, we are already working closely with authorities and businesses in all the Asia Pacific economies. We will continue with this level of commitment and are prepared to help any entity realise the benefits of the Internet Economy.
Thank You.