Geoff Zeiss, Principal at Between the Poles, a thought leadership consulting firm, writes about how open standards have enabled technology without borders. We’re thankful Geoff’s support of the OpenStand movement and the Principles upon which it is based. Some summary points from the article:
The reason for the Internet’s success is that it is not controlled by any one nation, company or special interest group. It is for the people, by the people. The Internet—the physical connectivity, interoperability and the World Wide Web—is built on a set of open, global standards that support voluntary approach to standards adoption.
The Internet is not confined by larger corporations. Some of the most innovative technologies come from startups who, while they may lack in zeros behind their bank account balance, make up for it with ambition and creative thinking.
The Internet is not confined by geopolitical borders. No nation can lay claim to it. It is no longer a Western-dominated technology. Instead, developing countries have access to the wider world around them and the economic opportunities it provides. According to a report written by global management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group, there are 800 million people surfing the web in developing G-20 countries. That is more than the combined number of Internet users in all developed G-20 countries. India and Argentina lead the pack of developing nations with growing Internet economies.
Without question, open standards enable the global interoperability of the Internet and drive the free flow of information and knowledge to expand markets and economies for the betterment of humanity. The OpenStand Principles encourage the development of global, open, market driven standards to drive innovation without borders for the benefit of humanity.