The virtual age

The web is completely changing the face of industry. Of that there is no doubt. But few people truly grasp the extent to which the web has completely revamped and restructured every facet of business. The advent of cloud technology has meant that ownership of physical assets is no longer a prerequisite for launching a business. These days, companies can launch and become extremely successful before they actually acquire any physical assets. We are entering the virtual age now. With the rise of open source software and the collaborative commons nature of the web, companies can build their business model and user base without having to purchase physical assets. Many online games companies accrue much of their revenue via the sale of virtual items. The power of the likes of Facebook or Twitter is the size of their network. The same is true of the likes of Amazon, eBay and Alibaba. It doesn't matter that these companies do not actually own large amounts of inventory. What matters is that they have a very large, engaged user base. Interesting to speculate upon how industry will look twenty years from now....