Modules can have a life of their own

It is easy to visualise how a television set can consist of different plug-in modules and how the modules can easily be replaced when something goes wrong. It is not too much of a step further to imagine each module being made by a different supplier – and all brought together for a final assembly.

Take this one stage further. Imagine a new company inventing an improved version of one of a television set's modules. This improved module could replace the inferior module – improving the overall performance of the television set. If this kept happening over and over again, with new and improved modules being developed, the performance of the television set would continuously improve with every module change.

It could be that an improvement in a module would be made by the company already supplying that module. At other times a new company might come along, with an innovative design and so become the new supplier of that module – replacing the previous supplier.

Imagine now a situation where the technology was constantly changing and there were continuous opportunities for modules to be improved. Imagine keen competition between several television set manufacturers. Wouldn't this create a pressure for more and more improvements in modular designs as each manufacturer strives to get ahead of the others?

Into this scenario, imagine a progressive company developing a new kind of module that could significantly enhance the picture quality of television sets. Wouldn't all the television set manufacturing companies have to include that module in their design? Wouldn't this make the module supplier independent of the television set manufacturers: able to set up a specialist niche?

Imagine this happening over all aspects of a television set, with various module design companies coming up with all kinds of different innovations and improved designs. Would the television set manufacture need to get involved in any of the detail that went on inside any of the modules? Couldn't the manufacturers save themselves the cost of employing designers and engineers and the costs of all the development and testing? Would they need to get involved with the design at all?

Surely, the core product producers would end up as mangers of a system of modules that was evolving autonomously? Their function would be to test the modules and gauge customer reactions. Instead of being designers involved in the technology of television manufacture, the television set manufacturers would become customer relations experts, providing the feedback that influences the way in which the system of modules evolves.

It doesn't happen this way with televisions because there aren't many television set manufacturers and the technology is changing relatively slowly. But, what if there were as many television set manufacturers as there are Web sites? What if the technology involved in television sets changed as much as the technology changed on the Web? Wouldn't this breed hosts of module design companies who would be in keen competition with each other to produce new and improved modules?

The trick now is to see a virtual Web presence in this same way. It too can consist of modules made by different developers. These Web presence modules can be improved or replaced by a multitude of different developers and in this way allow Web presence systems to evolve and adapt quickly to a fast changing, competitive environment. It is this situation we are in now and it is a fertile landscape in which to create viable e-businesses either as system designers or component developers.