Future Applications and Middleware, and their Impact on the Infrastructure

The Internet today has progressed from being "just a network" through phases as a human communications mechanism and an unrivalled information system to the mere beginning of being a true services network. On the way, it has encountered a series of technical and external challenges that have created some barriers to further development. For the Internet to release its known potential and to develop as a resource-sharing computing services platform, these barriers must be torn down.