New digital dawning: are you ready for the incredible things coming to the online world? Join us on our journey to the future of the web

Entrepreneur, Jan, 2006 by Amanda C. Kooser

Ambient's fagship product, the Ambient Orb, is a frosted glass ball that changes color to indicate changes in the stock market. It can also be set to meter customized information. It connects to the internet through a nationwide wireless network but doesn't require users to have a computer or their own internet connection. Rose hopes that the simplified delivery will appeal to those who feel overwhelmed by data. If Ambient Devices is any indication, the web could very well be coming to an umbrella handle near you soon.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?

That's a whole lot of innovation to try to keep up with. Right now, most entrepreneurs are spending their energy on keeping their websites updated, improving search engine rankings and investigating online marketing opportunities. Richard Riley, vice president and general manager of Yahoo! Small Business, is keeping an eye on the future of growing businesses and the web. "We'll rapidly go from a world where less than 50 percent of small businesses have a website to it being absolutely business-critical. Their online presence will become increasingly sophisticated [and] personalized to their customers," says Riley. He also sees more businesses adopting blogs as a way to communicate frequently with customers.

It's early days yet, but entrepreneurs are discovering online marketing as an affordable and effective way to reach customers. "You'll see a real explosion in the number of small businesses advertising online," says Riley.

More websites, blogging and online marketing may not be the most glamorous technological advances, but they are the ones that will impact your business directly over the next few years. No one can be sure exactly what the web will look like in five or 10 years, but we have some good guesses. The trends of today will lay the path for the web of tomorrow, and growing businesses will be in the thick of it all, blazing trails and taking new technologies to the limit.

ILLUSTRATION[c] PETER CROWTHER

GAZE INTO MICROSOFT'S CRYSTAL BALL ...

Over at Microsoft, the company has taken its small-business customer service quest to the web with the Small Business Center (www. microsoft.com/smallbusiness). It's part of the larger trend of moving business functions of all kinds to the web. We asked Doug Leland, general manager of small business for Microsoft's Worldwide Small and Mid-market Solutions & Partner Group, and Frederic DeWulf, Microsoft's U.S. small business web director, to reflect on the future of the web.

Mobile web technology, like online access through smartphones or PDAs, is an intriguing concept for growing businesses. "We're still in the earlier adopter phase. [Users] are starting to realize the productivity benefits," says DeWulf. "It's growing pretty rapidly in certain industries that have a higher share of mobile workers." Not all entrepreneurs will be rushing out to buy Treos for their employees, but as speeds increase and the technology matures, it will give a leg up to businesses that crave mobile access.