Technology in business is about to get faster. Some of the newer technologies, such as VoIP and cloud computing, are deploying at a rapid pace. However, thanks to a bold and visionary investment and approach by Google, new technologies are on the horizon for businesses to create operational efficiencies and service differentiation.
sipVine, a Voice over IP provider, already makes its home in North Kansas City, where fiber has been deployed throughout the town. With Google’s announcement that Kansas City, KS will be the first community with its one gigabit fiber service, followed by its deployment in Kansas City, MO, this is a great home for technology companies. Why? The bet is that speed changes everything! Well, speed, a little time, and some investment capital can change everything!
Google’s strategy is bold and interesting to say the least. Deploying fiber to every home and business is certainly not inexpensive. The electronics involved to deliver speeds of one gigabit of bandwidth are not inexpensive either. This is a bet on the future of business innovation on one hand, and a lot of by-product advantages on the other. Google believes that the mere provision of speeds of that size will attract technology development and liberate these entrepreneurial organizations to discover and deploy new services. The by-product is that these companies and residences will also take advantage of Google’s expanding array of services. The municipalities are counting on an influx of such companies, and the economic development to follow.
The lightning rod has been provided, now for the time and money. It will take time for the infrastructure to be deployed. It will take time for existing technology companies to deploy in the area and for future technology companies to secure funding and begin their development. This is certainly a lot more complicated than building a baseball diamond in the middle of a cornfield on the hopes that “they will come.” There are naysayers to the strategy, but most are very optimistic about the possibilities.
Area businesses will benefit. Think of innovations in terms of recent decades. There have been many improvements to business performance and communications, none of which were initiated with this kind of localized investment. Many businesses have embraced newer technologies such as VoIP and cloud computing, and they stand to benefit as an early adopter of the technologies on the horizon. It is time for the area business community to embrace the technologies of today, so they can be ready to take advantage of the future…the future that has been accelerated.
About the author: Mark Greim is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at sipVine, a provider of a variety of digital phone solutions and services. Mark has extensive experience working for start-up or entrepreneurial organizations and a passion for affordable, reliable, and purposeful technology solutions in those environments.
