Technology Perspective
The Pervasive Internet: It means what it says. For quite a few years now, Harbor Research has focused most of its research and consulting on what we call “the Pervasive Internet”—the convergence of pervasive or embedded computing with the packet-switching “network of networks” called the Internet. We prefer “the Pervasive Internet” over other terms in common use—notably “M2M,” which usually stands for “machine-to-machine”—because it captures the profound enormity of the phenomenon: the world on the Internet, the Internet in the world.
But very few people are thinking about pervasive computing on that level. We all casually repeat phrases like “the network is the computer” without really considering the implications. “Pervasive computing” should automatically be understood as “networked pervasive information and computation,” but it isn’t. The nature and behavior of a truly distributed global information system are concerns that have yet to take center stage—not only in business communities, but in most technology communities, too.
“The Pervasive Internet” really means the future of information, and that means the future of civilization. It will require a remarkably agile global network that could comfortably scale to trillions of nodes—some of them hardware, some software, some purely data, many of them coming into and out of existence or changing location constantly. Obviously, such a network cannot be “designed” in any ordinary sense. Certainly, it cannot be designed “top-down.”
And yet the Pervasive Internet must be designed in some sense. Such a network will easily be the biggest technical achievement in the history of humanity. Its closest predecessor is the global financial economy—with which, in fact, it will share vital characteristics. Some basic design principles must be put in place to guide the growth of a vast, distributed technological organism that must remain organized as it evolves according to a logic all its own. It demands that we design not only devices and networks but also information itself in ways not addressed by current IT.
“Internet” is short for “internetworking.” The Internet was designed in the 1960s to allow the incompatible data networks and computing systems of the time to share information—to “talk to each other,” as people like to say. The Internet is literally a “network of networks.” That’s what the “inter” means. The public Internet as we know it today is a worldwide embodiment of those original data communications protocols—which are, by design, extremely simple. For this discussion, their key attribute is that they make very few assumptions about the data they are sending and about the devices connecting to the network to send and receive data. It is this extensible, technology-neutral basis of the Internet that has allowed it to scale so dramatically (and gracefully) since its inception, with minimal central administration. The realization of the Pervasive Internet will involve billions upon billions of protean network nodes that ultimately “take on a life of their own.” Our present-day conception of “intelligent devices” and global data networking does not allow for that. Until we change that situation, we will not achieve the emergent magic implied by the phrase “the network is the computer.”
Harbor Research has developed a straightforward conceptual framework for understanding the full spectrum of Pervasive Internet technologies—all the steps along the technology-path, so to speak—along with the opportunities they offer, and the types of companies that supply them. We call this framework SIGNALSmart™—an acronym that begins with the Smart Services that the Pervasive Internet will offer and then works backward along the path of necessary technologies to its beginning in smart, data-generating devices.
We believe traditional proprietary high-tech sources of vast wealth—operating systems, database managers, and network connectivity itself—are quickly becoming declining-profit commodities that will not drive future growth. The era of monolithic vendors is over, and market penetration now depends on creative alliances and “business webs.” Digital information is now the DNA of global business and is transforming the very structure of the enterprise. Human-centric applications are quickly giving way to machine-centric applications that will automate business in ways never before possible. There will be big winners in the emerging global economy, but the game will take place on a changed playing field.Pervasive computing—also commonly called “ubiquitous” or “invisible” computing—usually refers to digital microprocessors and sensors embedded in everyday objects. But even this makes too many assumptions about what the pervasive phenomenon will be. Encoded information in physical objects is also pervasive computing—even without intrinsic computing ability, or, for that matter, without being electronic at all. Seen in this way, a printed bar code, a CD or DVD disc, a house key, or even the pages of a book can have the status of an “information device” on a network.
But very few people are thinking about pervasive computing on that level. We all casually repeat phrases like “the network is the computer” without really considering the implications. “Pervasive computing” should automatically be understood as “networked pervasive information and computation,” but it isn’t. The nature and behavior of a truly distributed global information system are concerns that have yet to take center stage—not only in business communities, but in most technology communities, too.
“The Pervasive Internet” really means the future of information, and that means the future of civilization. It will require a remarkably agile global network that could comfortably scale to trillions of nodes—some of them hardware, some software, some purely data, many of them coming into and out of existence or changing location constantly. Obviously, such a network cannot be “designed” in any ordinary sense. Certainly, it cannot be designed “top-down.”
And yet the Pervasive Internet must be designed in some sense. Such a network will easily be the biggest technical achievement in the history of humanity. Its closest predecessor is the global financial economy—with which, in fact, it will share vital characteristics. Some basic design principles must be put in place to guide the growth of a vast, distributed technological organism that must remain organized as it evolves according to a logic all its own. It demands that we design not only devices and networks but also information itself in ways not addressed by current IT.
“Internet” is short for “internetworking.” The Internet was designed in the 1960s to allow the incompatible data networks and computing systems of the time to share information—to “talk to each other,” as people like to say. The Internet is literally a “network of networks.” That’s what the “inter” means. The public Internet as we know it today is a worldwide embodiment of those original data communications protocols—which are, by design, extremely simple. For this discussion, their key attribute is that they make very few assumptions about the data they are sending and about the devices connecting to the network to send and receive data. It is this extensible, technology-neutral basis of the Internet that has allowed it to scale so dramatically (and gracefully) since its inception, with minimal central administration. The realization of the Pervasive Internet will involve billions upon billions of protean network nodes that ultimately “take on a life of their own.” Our present-day conception of “intelligent devices” and global data networking does not allow for that. Until we change that situation, we will not achieve the emergent magic implied by the phrase “the network is the computer.”
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