Here come the Hyperconnected

If you're an American or Chinese male working in I.T. or banking, are aged under 35 and reading this on your iPhone you're probably part of a growing segment of society that use numerous communications channels to the max.

by Helen Leggatt

“Hyperconnectivity is a megatrend whereby everyone and everything that can benefit from being connected to the network will be connected” according to Nortel Director of Strategic Enterprise Technologies, Tony Rybczynski. The increasing importance of communications channels that support “hyperconnectivity” such as the Internet, instant messaging, social networking, user generated content and voice-over-IP, is swelling the ranks of a growing segment of society – the Hyperconnected.

According to a recent IDC White Paper, sponsored by Nortel, the Hyperconnected currently make up 16% of business users. This figure is expected to rise significantly as the 36% who are “increasingly connected” join them in the next five years.

So what does it take to fit into the Hyperconnected crowd? The survey listed a variety of indicators, including:-

- They use a minimum of seven devices for work and personal access plus at least nine applications such as instant messaging, text messaging, Internet conferencing and social networks.

- The boundary between work and personal connectivity for them is almost nonexistent.

- They depend on the devices and applications that make them Hyperconnected - 47% said a network outage at work would have an extreme impact on them.

- They can be any age, however 60% are under 35 and just 7% are over 55.

- There are a higher than average number of them in the US and China.

- They come from all job functions and occupations, but are above the average in IT and research and development functions; lower than average in sales.

- 60% are male.

- They tend to live in urban areas more than the other clusters.

- They listen to more MP3s and play more networked games than the other clusters.

- They lead the clusters in adoption of the Amazon Kindle, Apple iPhone, and Slingbox video transmitter.

- They would take their laptop before their wallet or even mobile phone if they had to leave their house for 24 hours.

- They see Hyperconnectivity as normal: Less than one-third think of themselves as early adopters of technology.