There will be few in the tech industry who missed Dropbox's recent funding news. Its latest round of funding closed at $250 million with a market valuation of $4 billion. Although impressive, I was far more intrigued by Drew Houston’s, CEO, ambitions to integrate into our lives. Houston wants to create a world where our data is never far away. Indeed, Houston sees a future where Dropbox is integrated into just about everything, from cameras to televisions, from cars to refrigerators. Houston wants your data to follow you, wherever you are.
It’s tantalising to imagine such a reality. To have our photos, videos, music, documents and every other piece of important data close to our fingertips and accessible by any connected device. Dropbox is certainly not alone in its ambition to become the universal keeper and distributor of data though. One need only look at Apple’s iCloud or Google’s rumoured Drive (GDrive) to see this is a huge market and one where the Internet giants are keen to capitalize. There can be no question that part of the reason Dropbox is trying to make as much noise now is the threat from Apple and Google, especially on mobile devices.
Earlier this month, Dropbox announced a new partnership with HTC. Apparently this is the first in a series of mobile announcements that we can expect to see from Dropbox as we move into 2012. What’s clear is that Dropbox is trying to get a headstart on Apple and Google in regards to mobile and what’s key here is the company’s simplicity. Dropbox is an incredibly easy application to use and it remains to be seen if iCloud and GDrive will be able to improve upon this enough to entice users away. Of course, pricing will also play a key role here and one has to question whether Dropbox will be able to compete with the vast cash reserves of Apple and Google.
Regardless of which company wins market supremacy, what’s fascinating to explore is how the network will support these grand ambitions of ubiquitous data access. What’s guaranteed is that mobile broadband will play a key role. As I mentioned in a previous post, LTE and 4G networks are rolling out rapidly, at least in some parts of the world. Indeed, only this week, Sprint announced plans to upgrade part of its network to LTE Advanced. U.S. dominance in LTE and 4G deployments bodes well for companies such as Dropbox, Apple and Google, who are all heavily targeting their domestic market.
Looking beyond LTE and 4G, it’s reassuring to see that global mobile broadband speeds are continuing to rise. Earlier this month, Akami announced its latest State of the Internet report and highlighted significant increases in broadband speed and demand. One key detail shows that mobile speeds are growing with the average connection in some cities achieving highs of about 5 Mbps. However, for over 75% of connections surveyed, the average speed was much lower at around 1 Mbps. Still, this marks a definite increase.
Pricing and availability of mobile coverage is another key issue that needs to be addressed for Houston's ambitions to become a reality. I was interested to read this week of Vodafone’s struggle to entice users onto LTE networks. Current subscription rates are flat and it’s understandable when you consider that average LTE price plans are about €80 per month. I’m sure prices will decrease as more LTE networks are deployed and competition is stimulated, but for now the extra expense is difficult to justify.
Looking beyond the immediate network realities, it is clear to see that we are moving, although incrementally, towards Houston’s vision and this is exciting. A truly connected world of both individuals and data is an incredible goal and one that many of us are continuing to push for every day.
What do you think of being connected anywhere? Do you see advantages to having your data follow you? Are there any disadvantages that you foresee? Let me know what you think on this.