The sci-fi vision of a future in which little computers are everywhere – embedded in the kitchen fridge, woven into clothing, even sprinkled as “dust” on everyday objects to provide ambient processing power – has yet to be fully realised. But it is getting closer all the time. Cheap processing power and abundant wireless internet access mean that computers are being crammed into all manner of formerly dumb devices, with big implications for business models.
First, most hardware will become commoditised. The economics of the tech industry mean that an initial advantage in production cost is amplified as greater size translates into more cash for research and development. So the hardware industry will likely evolve into a few large suppliers focusing on specific components. Second, competition will increasingly centre around the design of chips made by third parties such as Taiwan's TSMC, or on software that powers gadgets.
Indeed, software is already trumping physical design as the source of competitive advantage in mobile phones. The iPhone is essentially a Macintosh computer shrunk to mobile phone size, the popularity of which allows the company to make margins estimated to be far higher than more established phonemaking peers.