One thing is really clear: no matter how bad the economy gets, the amount of opportunity for technical achievement is stupendous. Programming languages continue to evolve to better solve new problems. Bio and nano tech are advancing… in ways you and I could hardly understand. Web applications get easier and easier to develop.
But where’s the market opportunities? That’s the $64,000 question!
One vastly simplified way to answer the question “Where’s the opportunity?” is that it depends on the scale of the enterprise. Bio-nano-related technology will require large corporations, VC backing, probably government funding to get started, before real market opportunities emerge. The so-called wireless sensor revolution of a few years ago is a perfect example of this. The technology for cobbling together small wireless sensor networks was fairly easily created by small research groups. But getting the reliability and scalability necessary for first industrial then consumer level deployment took quite a bit longer. In fact, it took long enough that the newsworthiness of the industry faded before the really interesting applications were developed! Which won’t change the fact that wireless sensor networks will become ubiquitous sooner than later, however invisible they may be to consumers.
On the small scale, consumers will never tire of products that 1. make them money, 2. save them money, or 3. provide cost-effective entertainment. Web applications are a perfect platform for delivering consumer products and services in all 3 areas. And web application development has never been easier. These days, a small team of college students can quickly develop applications of surprising complexity and utility. I’ll have more on one of my favorite web applications in the near future. It’s good. You’ll like it. It will help you save and make money.
Here’s the challenge: How are you determining where the market is among all this opportunity?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
“And web application development has never been easier.”
That’s why web developers are too over-rated these days. Web firms charge too much money based on the work they do, while nothing goes to the software that makes the magic happen (web server, frameworks etc…).
I think web development is too much of a competitive business to be in, and while it will always be profitable, it has lost its fun.
Hi Luca,
I have just the opposite feeling: it’s more fun and less profitable now than ever before!
The truth is surely somewhere in between.
One thing for sure: it’s intensively competitive.
Thanks for your comment.