We can’t live without the internet, it can’t live without us

“We have a symbiotic relationship with the internet, we cannot live without it and I am pretty sure if it could think, the internet could not imagine existence without users,” says Yasushi Okamura, Global client director at Oracle.

Okamura, who was addressing the audience at the Korea Communications Conference, suggests that human beings have undergone a symbiosis with the internet that has enabled both parties to evolve greatly in the last 25+ years.

“We have evolved and adapted the internet into our working and personal lives,” he says. Okamura reckons that we have come to rely on the internet so much that our lives could cease to function if it were to disappear.

“When my wife needs a recipe she goes online, when I do research I don’t go to the library, I go online. My daughter doesn’t want or need a television because she has a computer and mobile devices where she watches everything.”

Okamura cites Apple’s success as an example of our co-evolution with online technologies. He believes through constant innovation Apple has a built “tightly integrated very smart ecosystem” with a “customer experience that delights and drives strong loyalties.”

This, he argues, drives growth because more people are relying on these connected devices and use them for their everyday needs. He also thinks that Amazon, Google and to some extent Microsoft, have had similar successes as Apple.

Okamura explains that in our “smart ecosystem” we have “gone digital”, which centers around our digital assets which include, media, personal and applications. This has led us to device new ways to connect to the ecosystem through the convergence of television, internet and mobile communications.

Due to the nature of our symbiotic and co-evolved state with the net, we have “converged Triple play TV” through a “widget solution” to fit our “digital lifestyles”. Leaving us with comprehensive entertainment and technology in the ecosystem.

Okamura thinks that businesses need emulate Apple’s success and build “smart ecosystems” for their consumers. He suggests by enabling an integrated smart ecosystem companies can improve their customers’ experiences and make them more loyal at the same time.