Red Herring's Top Ten Trends 2001
© Dr. Terry J. van der Werff, CMC

Red Herring's editors lay out their top ten trends for technology and business for 2001.

Red Herring's annual top ten list ranges widely around the intersection of technology, business, government, and globalization.  This year's list is provocative and, in my view, pretty much on target.  Each trend is described in a several page article, including Red Herring's predictions of consequences, winners, and losers.  (The descriptions below are my paraphrasing.)

1. Computing.  As processing needs and bandwidth increase, peer-to-peer and other forms of distributed computing will redefine computer networks.

2. Intellectual property.  "Download, copy, and paste" are so prevalent that the legal debate over protecting intellectual property will intensify.

3. Venture capital.  Bricks and mortar retailers are upstaging dot.com startups left and right, forcing venture capitalists to return to basics.  New business models don't cut it anymore.  Innovation, management, and focus on real products, revenues, and profits will.

4. Public markets.  The power of electronic communication networks (now carrying 34% of Nasdaq's volume) will drive the development of a single electronic stock trading network.

5. Wireless.  The advent of products using Bluetooth (a short-range wireless protocol) will create a raft of related startup companies.

6. Communications.  The explosion of bandwidth will allow every carrier to be a one-stop shop and to offer new services, such as video on demand, but the "last mile" problem remains.

7. International.  The blockbuster acceptance of NTT DoCoMo's Internet-enabled cell phones in Japan will lead Asian countries to leapfrog fixed-line infrastructures and jump immediately to wireless.

8. Government.  The Internet is a global network with no master and continues to grow in power, usefulness, and importance.  Governments will join together to regulate it.

9. Energy.  Fuel cells will finally make their way into homes, businesses, and automobiles, reducing our reliance on oil.

10. Biotech.  With the human genome effectively mapped, functional genomics will change the way new drugs are developed and will deepen our understanding of disease processes.

It's easy to take sides on their top ten trends, and Red Herring's editors admitted to their own spirited debates, but it would difficult for you to read through these articles and not be better informed and better enabled to use some of these trends to your own advantage.

Check out Red Herring's Top Ten Trends 2002.
Check out Red Herring's Top Ten Trends 2003.

 

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