What will the internet look like going forward? I recently spoke with Jonathan Davidson, SVP and GM of Cisco Mass-Scale Infrastructure Group. He did a great job of clearing away the confusion and showing us exactly what Cisco’s technology means for connectivity going forward. The below video will answer many questions you may have about what the internet of tomorrow will look like.
The internet is an incredible, always changing and advancing technology that has been with us for several decades. The internet of today is vastly different from what we used even a decade or two ago. It is faster and deeper and continually upgraded and updated. It can do more today, and it is faster than ever.
Jonathan Davidson SVP, GM of Cisco Mass-Scale Infrastructure Group
As amazing as the internet is today, it will only continue to get faster, stronger and better. In fact, after talking with Davidson, I get the sense a decade from today we may look at the internet we use right now the same way we look at the Ford Model T.
I asked Davidson how Cisco’s innovations in silicon and optics help boost the internet for today and tomorrow.
He points to how today we are building the internet in new ways like the optical space with technologies like ZR and ZR+ optics. Cisco calls this routed optical networks.
He says, this kind of new optical technology enables a savings up to 40 percent in the total cost of ownership from a CapEx perspective.
Optical wireless communications or OWC form of optical communications
This preserves the openness of IP networking, and at the same time today extends it to the optical infrastructure.
Optical wireless communications is a form of optical communications. Going forward, the wireless internet will be just as important as the wire line internet.
Another topic we discussed was, how will these changes help connect the next billion people and bridge the digital divide?
Davidson says in the past, the cost of infrastructure meant we focused investment where there were the largest amounts of people like cities or urban areas. However, going forward we are starting to expand to many other areas like suburban and rural areas.
Lower infrastructure costs will connect next billion people
He says Cisco is focused on lowering the cost of infrastructure so they can make it more widely available. They not only see connecting the next billion users, but the next three billion users.
We also took a look into the future. What the world will look like ten years from today, in the year 2021.
This was a playful question, but as you will see the answer is so deep, even titillating.
Davidson says, in the future we may not even be thinking about the internet. We will all simply be connected.
He says today we don’t think about how we get water or power. We simply expect it and it’s always there. That’s what he sees the future of the internet looking like.
What I take from that is people, companies, governments and more. It also means every device will be connected, like cars, health care and in fact every industry.
I think he is right. We do think about the internet today. We think about bandwidth and slowdowns, all sorts of things. However, I also believe we are in the middle of a transformation in the way we think about it and use it.
Juniper Networks, Huawei, Arista, Dell, VMware, HPE (Aruba), Netgear and others
Going forward, I believe the internet will ultimately be an always on network that connects everyone, every company, every country, every industry and so much more.
It connects us over both the wireline and wireless networks. This is the beautiful part of this technology. It will ultimately become one of the most important things in our lives and we won’t even think about it like water or power.
There are so many other companies and technologies in this growing and evolving space. Companies like Juniper Networks, Huawei, Arista Networks, Dell Technologies, VMware, HPE (Aruba), Netgear, Extreme and so many others, large and small.
There is still quite a bit of mileage between where we are today and the internet of tomorrow. We have to make sure as it grows, the internet both pervasive and secure.
If you are interested in this topic, take a look at this video interview with Jonathan Davidson. I think you will find it interesting. It will help you gain a better understanding of what tomorrow will look like and how the internet of tomorrow will change everything, one step at a time.
