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Drilling Down into
Computer and Web Trends
The greatest driver in the
technology megatrend is the use of the Internet, and it is starting
to have a great impact on everyone. USbancorp – Piper Jaffray
points out the incredible growth in devices being connected to the
Internet.
The explosion of the Web
has drawn an enormous amount of media attention in recent months.
With an estimated 72.6 million American adults already wired to
the Internet, and an additional 40 million planning to go online,
the Web has become a staple of our daily lives. Roughly one-third
of American Internet users go online and one-quarter of the U.S.
adult population use e-mail every day. At the end of 1998,
approximately 37 million U.S. adults used the Internet from home
on a daily basis, compared to only 19 million in mid-1997.
Internet Factors Driving Growth and e-Commerce
The SunTrust Equitable report concludes this overview of the
Internet’s impact with this statement: "…Ultimately we
believe the improvements on how we learn will be the single greatest
change that the Internet has on our lives."
The emergence of the Internet is
to the nineties what the advent of radio and television were to
the twenties and fifties; however, the Internet's influence on our
daily activities will be far greater. The Internet has emerged as
the most powerful commerce, communication, and information medium
of all time. International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts that
there will be 320 million Internet users worldwide by the end of
2002, up from 97 million at the end of 1998. Several factors are
facilitating this substantial growth:
- A large and growing
base of installed computers in the home and workplace.
- Network security,
infrastructure, and bandwidth improvements.
- Advances in the speed
of personal computers and modem performance.
- Cheaper and more
reliable access to the Internet.
- Consumer acceptance
of online commerce.
In the Internet's short history,
we have seen the opportunities it has created for businesses
focused on consumers, the B2C market. Now, we are in the midst of
the witnessing the changes the Internet will have on the way in
which businesses interact. The opportunities for B2B commerce are
yet to be fully recognized. Although the Internet’s impact on
commerce in both the B2B and B2C areas will be notable, ultimately we believe the improvements on
how we learn will be the single greatest change that the Internet
has on our lives.
Announcing
the Arrival of e-Learning
USbancorp – Piper Jaffray identifies the association between
technology and web growth and the opportunity that emerging with
e-Learning.
- The Internet has
established itself as the technology development of this
decade:
- An estimated 72.6
million American adults are already wired to the Internet,
and an additional 40 million are planning to go online.
- Worldwide, 350
million Web users are expected by 2003.
- By 2002 the number of kids on
the Web is expected to increase to 21.9 million followed by
the number of teens at 16.6 million.
- Global online ad
spending is expected to reach $33 billion by 2004.
- By 2003, e-Commerce
is expected to grow to over $1 trillion.
- The Web has electrified
learning by helping organizations create, enable, deliver,
and/or facilitate lifelong learning. We believe e-Learning will
prove to be the "killer app" on the Internet.
- From a macro level
standpoint, the time is right for e-Learning:
- Companies and
individuals everywhere are moving to the Web as the vehicle
for life-long learning, and no one dominant player can lay
claim to the lifelong learning marketplace.
- The e-Learning market
opportunity is huge.
- Our economy has
become knowledge-based.
- Changing demographics
have heightened the demand for learning services.
- Political winds are
blowing toward the need for a stronger focus on learning.
- The rapid growth and
ubiquity of the Web have morphed it into a powerful learning
platform.
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