Internet Trends and Futures

David Strom
David Strom, Inc.
+1 (516) 944-3407
david@strom.com

Summary

  1. Overall trends
  2. Rise of the Intranet
  3. Popular misconceptions
  4. Key technologies to watch in 1996

Overall trends

  1. Newbies still account for 50 % of population (Stef)
  2. Soft benefits, hard costs for connecting businesses
  3. Hard benefits, soft costs for connecting schools
  4. Net topology becoming less reliable and more confusing
  5. Routers and WAN issues biggest overall obstacle
  6. IP comes included now on every new desktop OS
  7. Intranet popular for corporate client/server applications
  8. IDC predictions: new web businesses, access vs. content, MSN=Prodigy96

Web browser is the GUI for non-Web applications


The Rise of the Intranet


Managing the transition from VTAM to the Intranet

Successful applications examples


Popular misconceptions about the Internet

  1. IP on the desktop is easy(ier)

  2. Everyone surfing from home these days

  3. The web and the Internet are synonyms

  4. The Internet isn't secure enough for commerce

  5. The battle of the browser is over

  6. NT is killing Unix in the server marketplace

  7. Java will drive leading-edge Web applications

Key technologies to watch in 1996

  1. Discussion/conferencing groupware

    Attachmate Open Mind, Netscape/Collabra Share,

  2. Web server creation tools

    O'Reilly Website, Compuserve Internet Office Web Server

  3. Web server management tools

    Vermeer Front Page, Netscape Server, Attachmate Internet Access Server

  4. Network management tools

    Peregrine Open Administrator

  5. Web content search tools

    Verity, Personal Library Software PL/Web, WAIS Inc. WAISGate

  6. IP on-ramp products

    Frontier Cybersearch, Netmanage Chameleon, Wollongong Emissary, FTP Software Explore, Attachmate's Irma for Internet

  7. Turnkey Internet server products

    Sun Netra, Performance Technologies Instant Internet

  8. Interactive applets and browser add-ons

    Java, Shockwave, Aretha (Winer)