BBC: The networking giant Cisco has declared video the next killer application. That claim is backed by research that shows that by 2013, internet traffic will reach 667 exabytes and 90% of that will be made up of video.
The traffic, equivalent of 10 billion DVDs worth of information, would cross the internet monthly said Cisco.
“If this prediction holds true, it would take more than a half a million years to watch all the online video,” said Larry Greenemeier of ScientificAmerican.com.
Cisco’s study helps to explain the company’s efforts to brand itself as a lead provider of what it calls “consumer experiences”. While the bread and butter of its $40bn in annual revenue come from the sale of routers and switches to big companies and ISPs, Cisco is keen to lay claim to new markets such as consumer electronics.
Its recent acquistion of Pure Digital, maker of the popular Flip video camera, has been seen as Cisco’s most aggressive move into this area.
“We’re just getting started,” said Ken Wirt, Cisco’s vice president of consumer marketing. “Our aspiration for the consumer business is $10bn,” he said. “We have over $30bn in the bank. In the last 20 years we have made over 130 acquisitions and are looking to buy where it makes sense.”
Other consumer-focused purchases included home networking firm Linksys. set-top box maker Kiss Technologies and TV equipment firm Scientific Atlanta.
top