Today SpotLink is a thriving technology firm of over a dozen certified professionals with offices in Southern California and Montana. But it clearly didn’t start that way. SpotLink was born as Bob Hood and Associates, operating out of my garage in April of 2000. To send you back in that era, Windows 98 was the King, Y2K had just happened, and the world’s computers and society didn’t crash. Here are the top 10 IT stories from 2000 according to InfoWorld:
- Dot-com deathwatch (end of the Dot-Com era)
- Music on Net meets copyright laws
- Love Bug Virus
- FBI’s Carnivore eats away at online privacy
- UMTS auction gold rush in Europe (3G mobile licensing auction)
- Time for telecoms to shuffle the deck
- AOL-Time Warner marries new media to old
- Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products goes from poster child for European IT to poster child for bad behavior
- Microsoft loses big in antitrust case (Later overturned)
- Denial of service attacks hit the big time
And here are some of the biggest tech-related changes over the last 25 years:
- Internet Access: In 2000, less than 7% of the global population was online. Currently, about 68% of the world has internet access.
- Mobile Devices: Worldwide cell phone subscriptions have dramatically increased from 740 million in 2000 to over 8 billion today, exceeding the global population.
- The App Economy: The rise of smartphones has fostered a trillion-dollar app economy, leading to a new era of personal technology.
- Data Generation: Over 300 exabytes of data are now generated daily. This is more than all the written words in human history, created every day.
- Emergence of Cloud Computing: Cloud computing has shifted businesses from reliance on local devices and software to accessing resources and services over the internet. This has driven digital transformation through enhanced agility, scalability, and cost efficiency. The global cloud computing market was valued at $331 billion and is expected to grow by 23%.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning: AI is projected to reach a market value of $390 billion this year, while 75% of businesses are expected to use AI-based cloud solutions for improved data analysis and streamlined operations by 2025.
- Social Media’s Impact: Social networking platforms have become dominant in our connected lives since 2004, according to the World Economic Forum.
- The Power of Search: Google’s search engine, launched in 1998, revolutionized how people access and navigate information online.
- Investment in Big Tech: The combined market capitalization of the “Magnificent Seven” tech giants (Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Tesla) increased by 26% annually from $1.1 trillion in 2012 to $17.6 trillion by the end of 2024.
In those 25 years, SpotLink has evolved into a premier technology company, expanding into cyber security, cloud services, and as of late, cabling, surveillance, access control, and AI. We are constantly scanning the horizon for new technologies that can make our clients’ businesses more productive and profitable.
While I’m very proud of how we have grown, both geographically and skill wise, and the ways we’ve helped business across America succeed, I am even prouder of the SpotLink team and how they have individually grown with SpotLink from largely young eager technicians into mature consummate professionals in the field they have chosen. They are what make SpotLink click.
Need Help Implementing technology?
As a Managed Services Provider (MSP) and Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP), SpotLink has extensive experience in implementing, managing, monitoring and maintaining a wide array of technologies for businesses. To learn more or get help, contact us at:
📧 [email protected]
📞 +1-855-SpotLin
Robert Hood
CEO & Founder
SpotLink®
Author’s Note: I write my own blogs. That’s unusual. Blogs are often authored by a service and then reposted, especially in IT, or written by AI from a few key words. Instead, I choose the topics that might be of most interest to our clients and write to them – to you – directly. While it does take a little more time to write my own content, it does mean that we are well versed in the subjects I send to you. So, please always feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or comments about anything I write, including any topics you’d like to learn more about. Thank you. – Robert Hood
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