There’s no denying it, cyber-infrastructure is a complicated thing. Its landscape encompasses everything from basic websites to the latest cutting-edge AI technologies, along with web applications that provide interactive, robust, and engaging user experiences.
Over the years, web applications have significantly evolved and are continuing to do so, with an ever-broadening range catering to diverse user objectives and needs. From single-page applications (SPAs) designed to dynamically rewrite a web page with new data provided by the server to complex progressive web applications (PWAs) that provide a mobile app-like experience for the user.
What are the Components of the Internet?
The main components of the internet, which allow us to view and interact with web pages and platforms, are servers, clients, cables, and routers. When we use our device to request information (i.e., type in a website’s URL), a message is sent from our device to the server, asking for a copy of the requested web page. Routers send the information – via a multitude of data packets – between computers. Before being sent, the data packets are allocated a number, which the receiving computer uses to put the information back together into what we see displayed as a web page.
Defining Cyber-Infrastructure
But what exactly is cyber-infrastructure, and how do different web app types fit into this digital framework? Cyber-infrastructure refers to the software and systems, informational and physical assets, and the people and processes that allow an organization to function securely and efficiently in cyberspace.
The Role of Web Apps
Web apps play a key part in online infrastructure, making up the front-facing portals or tools via which users interact with websites and other platforms. There are eleven main types of web apps, each designed to cater to the needs of specific industries or users.
For example, dynamic web apps are commonly deployed on social media sites, as well as in retail and e-commerce, and the transport and logistics industry. They’re used to manage a site directly, changing and updating information as required, and are easy to manage. Plus, they serve to protect the server and all the website’s users.
And then there are the more complex progressive web apps (PWAs) – these apps are highly responsive and facilitate browser compatibility. They can be worked in either online or offline mode and can update themselves without any user interaction.
What Type of Tech is Used to Develop Web Apps?
Currently, it’s estimated that around 98% of web apps are powered by JavaScript. Other popular development platforms include CodeIgniter, Django, the Yii PHP framework, and the Microsoft.net framework.
The Cyber Landscape Today
Innovations have been coming thick and fast in the digital world over the last few years, and things are still speeding up further. AI, AR, and VR are all becoming increasingly incorporated into a cyber landscape that’s ever more immersive, intuitive, and ready and able to not only fulfill our every need but anticipate them.
Different types of web apps and online platforms are also merging to create one-stop-shop user experiences that do away with the need to leave the platform to, for example, make a purchase, view relevant information, make a booking, or find other necessary details.
What Role Is AI Currently Playing in the Cyber World?
AI already makes up an inherent part of the digital landscape we all know and use daily. For example, social platforms such as TikTok and LinkedIn already use AI to show subscribers the videos, products, and information most relevant to them, while AI is being deployed to create personalized shopping experiences on Amazon and other major online retail sites. Meanwhile, content automation tools leverage AI to create posts, sites, newsletters, etc., that perfectly align with their brand messaging and aesthetic.
The Future of Cyber Infrastructure
When it comes to the cyber landscape, the future is almost certainly quantum. It’s hard to conceptualize just how seismic the shift to quantum computers will be. These devices will operate using a completely different set of physical principles (namely, quantum mechanics) and process data in a way that’s never been seen before.
And the benefits of this computing revolution? Well, the design and manufacture of materials and drugs will be expedited to the nth degree, as will the effectiveness of cyber security processes. The development of AI tech will likely accelerate at an even faster pace, bringing almost unimaginable change in its wake. What does this look like? Researchers are calling it AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), which will push to the limits our current understanding of the technology, creating a machine that is capable of anything that the human brain can do. And if that sounds like something straight out of the plot of a sci-fi film, companies like DeepMind, owned by Google’s parent company, are already working on the technology required to make it happen.
But there are many concerns about such a profoundly altered cyber landscape. Not least of these is the fact that regulatory policies and governance relating to the new tech and its impact won’t be able to move anywhere near as fast as the innovations themselves. This means that, for a significant period, cyber-infrastructure could take on something of a Wild West vibe.
Whatever the potentials and potential pitfalls, the future of cyber-infrastructure is set to be a fascinating one: the development of dynamic new web apps and platforms is currently paving the way to a digital landscape that promotes inclusion, connection, and a profoundly immersive experience.
