Web economy expected to double by 2016

When the dotcom bubble burst almost a decade ago, no one thought that its present value of $2.3 trillion, larger than the economies of most countries, was possible, but analysts say there is even more new in store for the World Wide Web’s economy and it’s going to be quite impressive.

According to figures released by consultancy firm Boston Consulting Group, the web economy is going to double in the next 4 years and is expected to hit the whopping sum of $4.2 trillion by 2016. And while it is quite a sum, this figure is only representative of the web economy in the G20 countries.

According to the Boston Group, the web economy will see such a rise owing to increased internet usage, where it is expected that around 3 billion people or half of the world’s population will have internet access and use with nearly one trillion devices connected to the internet.

At present, around 200 million people each year use the internet. For the very first time, this stands to increase.

According to the study, internet access will increasingly become ubiquitous and essential as opposed to being a luxury in many parts of the world and the numbers will be especially big in emerging markets such as China, set to account for almost 800 million users itself.

This spurt, according to the Boston Group, will largely be driven by smartphone technology, as it has come to be responsible for the most rapid increase in internet usage.

According to the study, by 2016, smartphones will be responsible for 80 percent of all internet access - which in turn means that traditional mediums such as PCs and the use of copper wire will gradually fade out.

The BCG study also suggests that the internet will no longer remain fixed to certain devices but will pervade most technologies with most things going to be able to be connected to the web, something often referred to as the internet-of-things.

But the Boston Group did clarify regarding the exact nature of the web economy, saying, "During the research we discovered very quickly that there is no approved way of measuring the internet economy."

The study itself was commissioned by Google, which of course, among others, is going to benefit greatly from such a future. Speaking about the study, Google chief financial officer Patrick Pichette said, "Understanding the economic potential of the web should be an urgent priority for leaders... [with] a powerful case for countries and companies to get online and reap the rewards of an age of data."