SWOT analysis basis of this paragraph: (Untill risk is the paragraph)

Background:

The internet is a collaboration between different service providers (ISPs) who are physically connected to each other though copper or fiber optic cables. Service providers who exclusively sell connectivity to other ISPs and who have a large global network of routers and connections are usually called internet backbone providers (e.g. Cogent and Level 3). ISPs usually sell internet connectivity to end users, who can either be residential customers or business customers.

A packet is a message thats sent across a network. It has a header that contains the source and a destination, as well as a payload (the actual data the packet contains). Whenever a router receives a packet, its job is to figure out where to send the packet next so that it can reach its destination (this is what we mean by routing).

When an end user (as in, a PC, server, etc.) wants to send a packet to a destination, it sends it to its default gateway, which then forwards it to the users ISP. The ISP basically does the same thing, except they have a list of many other gateways (aka. routers) and what networks they belong to (e.g. Router A belongs to the network called 1.x.x.x, so any packets whose destination IP begins with 1 will be sent to that router). If a direct route isnt available, then its sent to a hard-coded next hop which is defined by the BGP routing table (this is where our product comes into play; it will, through our efforts of our users, figure out which next hop is the best for any given source/destination and provide this information through BGP updates to our customers).

This process repeats until the packet either reaches its destination, or its deemed too old, at which point its dropped and wont be forwarded to any other gateways.

Problem:

Creating efficient routes is difficult and time consuming.

Inefficient routes. Traveling salesman problem.

Solution:

BGP routing information is public knowledge, and it can be looked up through e.g. RIPE/ARIN/APNIC and backbone providers such as Hurricane Electric (he.net). Using this, and a geographically diverse collection of servers (so that we can have a presence on as many networks as possible), we can test the connection speed between different routers and paths and get information about what routes are better than others. With this information, we can rate the routes that our users create in terms of throughput (how many bits per second) and latency (how long it takes for packets to arrive). This information is highly dynamic and short-lived, so we need to continually update it.

Game where users create routes. Sell routes to ISPs/Backbone providers through BGP (Border Gateway Protocol; A standard way to peer with other routers and create paths for internet flow) updates.

Risks:

We need to reach a critical mass of gamers for our product to be viable, otherwise wed be more economical to just use machine learning.

Here's more Reading:

Topic: Australia's slow internet speed

WHy did the problem chosen:

What is the problem:

Copper lines, not fiber. Expensive transit fees.

Solutions:

A possible solution would be some kind of limited mesh networking (e.g. connecting non FTTP households to a better uplink through microwaves)

3. Value proposition (this week's focus)

* What core value do you deliver to the customer?

* Which customer needs are you satisfying?

4. Customer relationship(this week's focus)

* What relationship that the target customer expects you to establish?

* How can you integrate that into your business in terms of cost and format?

5. Customer segment (this week's focus)

* Which classes are you creating values for?

* Who is your most important customer? Number ideas for core values:

Outsourcing other Networks to relieve the stress on other networks must use a semi-network.

Satellite networks relieve stress on other networks. By connecting the satellite network to the ground network. Need the satellite dish.

Blockchains.

Routing traffic using business routes instead of residential routes (such as with a VPN)

Customer needs are you satisfying?

Gen Z online people.

Families who use streaming services.

Idea update:

Our idea might need more collective intelligence.

We can do that by gamifying the creation of internet routes. Sort of like the Fold-it game, where users fold proteins, but instead of folding proteins theyll be creating routing tables. The better the route, the higher the score (latency, throughput, etc.). We also dont need to create some kind of clever algorithm to make routes if we get the users to do it instead.

Internet routing is the travelling salesman problem, so its impossible to solve it 100% algorithmically anyway.

Our game can be like Mini Metro, where instead of metro lines youre creating internet routes. Stations will be routers, trains will be packets (we can visualise latency/speed by how fast the trains/packets move), and people will be data traffic. If we can visualise internet traffic in real time, we can update the routing tables on the fly. This way we can always provide ISPs with the fastest, most up-to-date routing tables.

Business proposition: We can sell these user-created routing tables to ISPs, and we can incentivise users to play by doing some sort of revenue sharing.

Value proposition:

What core value do you deliver to the customer?

Relieving stress on the network by utilising satellite networks and other kinds of networks, and intelligent routing to deliver a better internet experience to the customer.

We will provide an application for the customers to use, which will collect data about the health of the network and perform smart routing for the customer. The application can have a free tier to get more users, which will assist us in data collection, and a paid tier for better routing for the customer.

Which customer needs are you satisfying?

Bandwidth for families using 4K streaming services.

Customer relationship

What relationship does the target customer expect you to establish?

The relationship will be a Business-to-customer relationship where the customer may or may not be paying a monthly subscription fee.

We can resell satellite internet to the customer, or they may use their own satellite connection if they already have one.

How can you integrate that into your business in terms of cost and format? Cost: Reselling satellite internet (subscription fee, shipping physical dish)

Format: The application is downloadable (or installable on the customers router for a transparent experience (sell them a new router?)) Reselling satellite internet to customers using the application allows the network to integrate with the business.

To integrate our idea into our business to cover cost and format, we plan on reselling satellite connections to the customers but also providing a bonus for signing up through our company.

Which classes are you creating values for?

We are creating value for middle-class families who have high upload/download bandwidth needs and need a stable connection, where latency is not important.

Who is your most important customer?

The most important customers are the ones paying the subscription fee to use our application.

Our product will be an application that collects data about the general health of the various networks we are connected to and makes intelligent internet routing based on this information. This will give the customers a more reliable and faster connection speed by relieving stress from congested networks. If a customer is not connected to more than one network, we will provide them with a second connection through a 3rd party satellite internet provider. Because were planning on having satellite internet as a central part of our solution, latency cannot be an important requirement for the customer (e.g. online gaming). This is due to our target customers being middle-class families who want to watch their 4k streaming service. In our business model, we will be prioritising the families who pay for our subscription services, while also collecting usage data from our free users to improve the service.

We are creating a game where players will be tasked with creating efficient internet routes, which will be scored according to our customers requirements. Routes that achieve a high score will be packaged into a routing table update that we forward to our customers in real-time. For our customers, these routing packages will be provided as a subscription service.

Internet routing is a travelling salesman problem where it has been proven impossible to solve algorithmically. We will use the collective intelligence of gamers to find the best internet routes where it may otherwise be too computationally expensive to do so otherwise. This improved routing will help build a faster, more reliable internet by better utilising existing network infrastructure in creative ways.

Value proposition:

- What core value do you deliver to the customer?

Well be simplifying the way ISP's route traffic is by taking into account network congesting and route pricing by continuously providing new routes. The ISPs have customers of their own they need to satisfy in the form of other businesses and end users, and by using our service, we make them ready for the ever more interconnected world.

- Which customer needs are you satisfying?

Were satisfying the need to have good, optimised and up-to-date internet routes.

Customer relationship:

- What relationship does the target customer expect you to establish?

Developers-Gamers: Fostering a positive community around the game and the real-world benefits their play sessions have.

Developers-Customers: A B2B relationship where we are a vendor who continually provides them with information about the most efficient routes in real-time through integrations.

- How can you integrate that into your business in terms of cost and format?

Well keep the game developers active in the community for continuous feedback from the gamers, which will ensure the game keeps staying relevant. By also involving the game developers in discussions with customers we can more easily develop new features of the game to satisfy our customers continually evolving needs.

- Which classes are you creating values for?

Individual internet users who utilise services that make use of our service will enjoy a faster, more reliable internet connection.

Our customers will get more optimised routes which will allow them to make better use of their already established network connections.

Gamers will get entertainment value from our game and monetary compensation based on their skills in the game.

- Who is your most important customer?

Both gamers and ISPs are equally important to us as customers: The gamers produce the product we sell and the ISPs are the customers who buy this product. Without either we dont have a business.

Key partners:

- Who are your key partners/suppliers?

Internet backbone providers and internet exchanges (data centres, routing centres).

- What are the motivations for the partnerships?

Potential partners could be ISPs as the service we provide focuses on optimising internet traffic through the use of our game. As ISPs roll out preset routes for internet traffic we are able to get the customers to create the best route for their personal connection to the internet. In doing so, we are making it possible to relieve the stress that is being placed on the network and helping ISPs provide a more reliable and faster service.

Key activities:

- What key activities does your value proposition require?

We would need to gather information on what routers are available for customers to connect to in order to make use of our game. Getting in contact with ISPs and promoting our service may also be required for the project to begin having success.

- What activities are important the most in distribution channels, customer relationships, revenue stream?

Customer involvement. Rewarding the customer for their efforts put into creating custom routing tables to improve their current service, which then provides data for ISPs to improve the deals they offer.

Key resource:

- What key resources does your value proposition require?

Information on what routers are available, how much traffic they can handle and how much its currently being utilised. We have to estimate many of these data points if we cannot get information from the ISPs/backbone providers.

- What resources are important the most in distribution channels, customer relationships, revenue stream?

In proving that our idea is valid and shows positive results we are able to push our product to be used by ISPs we are then able to collaborate and launch our product on a larger scale. The important information we need from ISPs such as traffic and routers become available for us when our clients decide to partner with us.

Distribution channel:

- Through which channels that your customers want to be reached?

Gamers: Game distribution platforms such as Steam, as well as advertising our website.

ISPs: ??? BGP sessions?

- Which channels work best? How much do they cost? How can they be integrated into your and your customers routines?

ISPs: BGP sessions and integration have no cost except the cost of having servers, but it might be difficult to establish BGP sessions with everyone. It is, however, the most seamless integration that requires little to no modification of the customers routines.

Cost structure:

- What are the most costs in your business?

Incentivising users to play the game (revenue sharing based on how good the routes they create are). We also need a moderate amount of processing capacity, so we will need servers that require upkeep.

- Which key resources/ activities are most expensive?

Data Centre administration and upkeep. Marketing and promotion.

Revenue stream:

- For what value are your customers willing to pay?

End users will get a better, more reliable connection. For ISPs, they may get more optimised routes that can be cheaper.

- What and how do they recently pay? How would they prefer to pay?

Access to the routing tables will be a subscription service for ISPs, where theyll continue receiving updates in real-time for as long as theyre subscribed.

- How much does every revenue stream contribute to the overall revenues?

The subscription service is our only revenue stream.

QUESTION:

SWOT ANALYSIS: (Please finish the SWOT analysis of above paragraph in this way) ( FIll up the table)

To perform a SWOT analysis, we can complete a matrix concentrating on a company, a product or an idea. SWOT aims to give a balanced analysis of the subject, so the focus is not just the negatives or just the positives. Using SWOT should allow any potential issues to be explored further and mitigated. Any helpful aspects of a project/idea are identified so they can be leveraged to become competitive advantages.

The SWOT analysis is done in a 2 by 2 matrix. Each of the cells has a focus.

	Helpful	Harmful
Internal (organisational)	Strengths	Weakness
External (environmental)	Opportunities	Threats

Internal focus:

Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors of your project. eg Our app development will be fast because we have 3 experienced app developers, or We dont have a marketing strategy yet.

Think about these topics, the helpful factors and the harmful factors: people, resources, finances, experience, processes you used, products. Also the usual prompts of who, what, when, where, how, why can help you complete the internal factors that are affecting your product or idea.

External focus:

Opportunities and threats are external factors. Eg Laws are about to change stopping people from using sprinklers of any sort in the garden, we have designed our Lawnbot to be acceptable under the new laws, or Our competitors are marketing reverse compatibility for games from their previous console system, a feature we have not been able to develop yet.

Think about these topics, the helpful factors and the harmful factors: technology, legal, politics, culture, environment, ethics, national issues, global issues, competition, business partners.