As much as Demo is a lens for looking forward, this year’s event also proved to be a mirror for reflecting backward. Many of the products and technologies launched at Demo@15 were foreshadowed by trends and ideas first envisioned at previous Demo events.
In a previous column, I described the Demo Conference as a lens focused on the trends that would define the year ahead. But as much as Demo is a lens for looking forward, this year’s event also proved to be a mirror for reflecting backward. Many of the products and technologies launched at Demo@15 were foreshadowed by trends and ideas first envisioned at previous Demo events.
At the first Demo in 1991, Tandy introduced the first integrated multimedia PC, and two other long-forgotten start-ups showed the PC as a platform for television. These were the harbingers of the digital media revolution. Fourteen years later, a half-dozen companies at Demo demonstrated that digital media is a powerful, everyday reality.
The Demo 94 conference hosted a shootout between Novell and Lotus over the desktop application then called groupware. Today, collaboration is simple and accessible, and a part of many applications, from collaborative blogs to business instant messaging.
Throughout the mid-1990s, Demo attendees saw the first digital cameras and photo-editing software. Now digital cameras are everywhere, including in our mobile phones, and companies continue to push the boundaries of digital photography.
In 1996, Demo showed early work in VoIP. At this year’s Demo , a handful of companies showed that they have embraced VoIP to deliver great applications that simplify and unify voice messaging for businesses and consumers.
At DemoMobile 99, Atheros unveiled its first Wi-Fi chipset. Two companies this year advanced the state of the art in Wi-Fi connectivity. The ubiquity of Wi-Fi is having a profound effect on the consumer technology experience. Supported by this wireless network technology and others, long-envisioned ideas about home monitoring and control are a reality, ready to implement now.
These are a few examples of how the seeds of technologies, planted across the years, are coming to fruition in products and services launched at Demo@15. If there was a unifying idea among the 73 products on display at this year’s event, it was that of fruition and growth. Whether in the consumer segment or the enterprise market, these products speak to the fulfillment of long-held promises.
These products will play a role in the market growth that cuts across technology sectors – business and consumer. These are products brought to market by companies that know the challenges of innovating in a tough market. Each has pushed through, developing great ideas, fueling new concepts, and creating real and sustainable value for their customers and themselves. These companies and these products are well rooted for future success.
But don’t take my word for it. You can learn all about these products here .
Shipley is executive producer of The Demo Conferences, a biannual Network World-owned event that launches and showcases the newest emerging technology products and services. She can be reached at chris@demo.com.
