Introduction to the Business Processes with Ambient Media - Challenges for Ubiquitous and Pervasive Systems

Ambient media (aka ubiquitous media) are around us since quite a while. First products and services are emerging in our daily lives. The connection between the physical environment and the digital overlay through smart sensor networks became reality. However, many believe that the application of ubiquitous technology in real commercial solutions is still far out in the future. Within the scope of this paper, we introduce the reader into the business opportunities of ambient media and give a technology roadmap how this new technology might be developing during the next years. The paper shows current shortcomings, technology trends, and existing business solutions and attempts to forecast it’s potentials in the next decade. The reader is introduced into issues of supply chain management, application domains, ubiquitous technology in (e)commerce, standards, and business models based on ambient media. This paper shows the perspective from a telecom operator, content creator, consumer, device manufacturer, consumer, and domain specific value-chain participant. It shall act as starting point for further investigation of the business of ambient media.