A new report on business and consumer bandwidth usage says that IP traffic will grow by three times more in the next four years than what it has reached after the first 30 years. Even more interesting, the majority of that traffic will be located on private networks.
Popular media has convinced us that YouTube video is sucking up all available bandwidth and bringing the Internet to its knees. Indeed, some service providers and particularly Cable broadband companies are struggling to cope with the surge in Internet activity. But a lot of that is because they oversubscribed their networks based on assumptions of limited infrequent traffic from Web surfers, not lengthy high bandwdith downloads of video clips, movies and television shows. Less well known is the dramatic growth in business traffic both on the Internet and off.
What's behind all this organizational activity? It's a combination of new types of information based businesses and productivity improvement initiatives by old-line businesses.
The new businesses offer digitally based services, such as video production and distribution, computer generated imaging, software outsourcing, and digital modeling and simulation.
How about traditional businesses? Office buildings full of clerks processing paper-based forms have been replaced by online systems for order entry, processing and shipment, inventory tracking, and e-commerce Web sites. More sophisticated tools help fewer people handle a larger volume of work without becoming swamped. Electronic communications have reduced cycle times of virtually every business process. Even mom and pop franchise operations have point of sale systems tied back to the franchisor for sales tracking and automatic inventory management. Plus every business, no matter how large or small, has its own Web site.
This transformation in business practice means that owners and managers of business properties have to consider electronic communications as a necessary utility, the same as electricity, heat and water. Today, it's very reasonable to make sure your building is "lit" for fiber optic service and even including high bandwidth connectivity as part of the lease. No longer are fiber optic bandwidth prices unreasonable. New Metro Ethernet services offer 100 Mbps and even Gigabit Ethernet at reasonable prices when shared among multiple tenants. Include some wireless access points to cover the floor space and you have an up to date facility that will appeal to even the most high-tech tenants.
