The Hot Spot Cyber Interview with Bill Joy

Bill Joy, Chief Scientist at Sun Microsystems , gives his views on how the Internet will change your business.

Q1: There are growing concerns that the Internet will create two-tier consumerism - those with and without web access. Do you agree?

A1: I believe that Internet access will be universally available through small pocket computers which combine the functions of a PDA, a cell phone and your credit card with new digital capabilities, and that almost a billion people will have these devices, which will be very cheap to manufacture, within 10 years. They should be given away by companies, such as credit card companies, for advantaged use of the cards for credit from the devices. The continuing progress of Moore's law making these devices so cheap should solve this problem.

Q2: What can be done to ensure the benefits of Internet technology becomes universal?

A2: Invest more in education. Being literate, and, beyond that, having a decent basic education will give you access to continuing education on the net.

Q3: How global do you think the Internet is today?

A3: Usage varies a lot by region, to very little in some struggling areas.

Q4: Which countries will see the greatest growth in web usage over the next five years?

A4: Europe and the larger Asian economies, led by the countries that provide inexpensive access, through things like unlimited local calls or essentially free wireless internet access. Its an incredibly good investment for a country to make this happen sooner, as it will lead to a much larger position in the internet economy, just like Finland benefits from Nokia.

Q5: Which industries do you think will benefit the most from e-business?

A5: Those where the existing distribution channels are inefficient and where better information between businesses will reduce friction. Initially, in the consumer-business world we see businesses like Amazon where the use of a large database which is hard to "browse" in the physical world by wandering around the store gives less friction, i.e. its easier to find things at Amazon than in a large bookstore. Businesses who will benefit from finding and participating in new models like auctions of things that they need and ENRON-like arbitrage will be some of the initial large beneficiaries of business-business use of the web.

Q6: Many businesses use their web sites as electronic corporate brochures. What other creative opportunities are available?

A6: a) Use your site to sell to other businesses. b) Use your site to buy from other businesses. c) Use your site to do customer support. d) Use your site to auction off your products. e) Use your site to gather information from your customers. f) Have a contest on line, letting your customers help make your business better

Q7: How do you see the development of the "next generation" Internet be transferred to the existing network?

A7: New facilities in the internet will coexist for an indefinite period with the existing net, as least as long coexistence has even marginal value. Additional Thoughts from Bill Joy.... As John Doerr says: the Internet is truly transformational towards the "new economy" and is STILL under-hyped. It will cause a reinvention of business and the way in which we work and play as fundamental as electricity/telegraph/telephone/car combined. It removes constraints on space and time so, for example, as a consumer of continuing education I can take a course over the web from the best teachers, no matter where they are. This de-institutionalization which comes from creating a more direct relationship between producers and consumers will hopefully, eventually, act as a de-bureaucratizing force affecting organizations of all sizes, including governments. All organizations have to adapt to this new landscape: where everything can be close to what it needs to be close to in space and time, and can "route around" middlemen if they don't add any value, or create new ones when they do.

Questions provided by Tom Millward, Editor, Corporate Location Magazine