The mesh, coming soon to a device near you, won’t just change your technology experiences. Actually, it’s not just coming to a device—it’s coming to every device, even those that aren’t currently wired. This ubiquitous network of interconnected devices will radically change your business, your vertical, and the economy as a whole.
There are a few parallels with what the Internet did to businesses, verticals, and the economy over the last quarter century. The pattern of what the mesh will do is visible in the pattern of what the Internet has done. The Internet is sprouting multi-billion dollar industries like app development and online gaming that didn’t even exist in the age of dial-up. Likewise, the world’s largest hotelier today owns no real estate and the world’s largest taxi service doesn’t own a single car.
While the patterns are similar, the mesh’s impact will be more deeply felt. This is in part because of its ubiquity, as networked devices will include not just terminals and handhelds but wearables and every other part of your home, business, machinery, and public infrastructure. The other difference is that the mesh’s transformations will be wrought much more quickly than those brought about by the growth of the WWW.
How can this be? Partly because the birth of the mesh has been much more decentralized and crowdsourced in nature, in contrast to the early days of the Web. Further, the technology for the mesh already exists and is widespread—we don’t have to invent the technology as we go like we did with the Web. You can already see how this is playing out as cycles of technological transformation have shortened from decades to years to months.
If the change is as fast and profound as we envision, those who don’t think ahead strategically will miss out on enormous opportunities. It’s past time to get your head around what the mesh might mean. Do you have the right partners to help you profit from this technology transition?