The Web used to be about going to a site and reading what you see. But now your browser is a gateway to a vast array of services - from your e-mail, social and photo sites to powerful financial management and business analytical tools, powered by data centres around the world.
Even small organisations have virtually infinite computing power at hand. The savviest are asking themselves: what will I do with it? The answer lies in four pervasive trends that are pushing the internet to a new phase of growth and sophistication. First, the Web is mobile. With the advent of smartphones that are designed with internet use in mind, more and more people are going online without PCs.
Last year, more new internet connections were established from mobile devices than from PCs and laptops. In countries such as Indonesia, South Africa and Nigeria, more people now search Google from phones than from computers. Soon, virtually everyone will be able to access the internet - and the world's information - from the palm of his or her hand. Second, the Web is democratic. Not only can anyone access information but anyone can publish it. More than 20 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute (a year ago, the figure was about 10 hours). Blogging, the self-publishing mode of choice for many years, has now been joined by shorter, real-time formats such as Facebook and Twitter (50 million tweets are posted every day). Information has become not only democratic but also instant: everyone can know everything right now.
Third, the Web is powerful. Take a mobile device twice as powerful as your five-year-old laptop and connect it to millions of servers, and you can do things that were simply impossible even a few years ago. Voice recognition, for example, is a problem that can finally be solved. Today I can speak a command into my phone ("navigate to Qasr al Hosn") and it will accurately respond. Universal translation becomes feasible. I can walk into any restaurant in the world and read the menu, thanks to the camera on my phone and its ability to connect to instant online translation. Online, there are no language barriers.
Fourth, the Web is scaling up. If you've been impressed with the Web's growth in the past decade, you haven't seen anything yet. Today the internet connects nearly 700 million host servers, but that number will jump to billions as a multitude of devices, appliances and sensors come online. Pressure sensors on the ocean bottom that are regularly posting information to the Web helped marine scientists around the Pacific detect tsunami activity caused by the recent Chilean earthquake.
New sources like this will lead to exponentially more data flowing through the Web, adding to the 1.2 petabytes that were created last year. Meanwhile, network providers are busily working on next-generation pipes. Bell Labs is testing undersea cables that deliver data 10 times faster than current ones, which will help ensure that the virtuous cycle of exponential growth won't slow down. As these trends converge, we are all bearing witness to a remarkable transformation. Information scarcity is giving way to information ubiquity.
The economist Joseph Schumpeter famously observed that capitalism inevitably leads to a "perennial gale of creative destruction". This next gale is going to be bigger than ever. How will you thrive in the new environment? Regardless of your endeavour, if your strategy doesn't integrate the mobile, democratic, powerful, scaling-up Web, you may well fail. Because someone else's plan will. Think big in everything you do, which is hard since assumed limitations are instinctive and our brains do not calculate compounding very well.
Listen well and be open, because customers and constituents have more information and choice than ever before. If you're not sure, ask them and get feedback. Some of it will be bad, but you will be better off for having had the conversation. Experiment frequently and fail well, learning and getting smarter with each round. As Voltaire noted, the perfect really is the enemy of the good, because if you wait until it's "perfect" someone will produce something more quickly that is merely good - and then iterate fast and often.
Finally, remember that people are more empowered than ever before and the well-defined roles of the pre-internet world are gone. Everyone is your customer, since you can reach people just about anywhere and anytime (and vice versa). Everyone is your competitor, since small start-ups can achieve multinational reach practically overnight. And everyone is your partner, since great ideas are just as likely to come from a cafe or garage as from a corporate research and development laboratory.
When computing and information are limitless, the only barrier to success is a lack of imagination. Fortunately, imagination is a free and plentiful resource, and the organisations that best tap into it will shape the coming decades.
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
PSL FINAL
Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi
8pm, Thursday
Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
ASIAN%20RUGBY%20CHAMPIONSHIP%202024
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Summer special
The%C2%A0specs%20
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Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Last 10 winners of African Footballer of the Year
2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2007: Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla and Mali)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo)
2009: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2010: Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan and Cameroon)
2011: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2012: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2013: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2014: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund and Gabon)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Algeria)
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
The biog
Name: Gul Raziq
From: Charsadda, Pakistan
Family: Wife and six children
Favourite holes at Al Ghazal: 15 and 8
Golf Handicap: 6
Childhood sport: cricket
TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
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MATCH INFO
Europa League semi-final, second leg
Atletico Madrid (1) v Arsenal (1)
Where: Wanda Metropolitano
When: Thursday, May 3
Live: On BeIN Sports HD
Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
From Conquest to Deportation
Jeronim Perovic, Hurst
MATCH INFO
England 2
Cahill (3'), Kane (39')
Nigeria 1
Iwobi (47')
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
More coverage from the Future Forum
MO
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Astra%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdallah%20Abu%20Sheikh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20technology%20investment%20and%20development%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)
Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no
Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)
Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22
Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
