Friduction: the internet's unstoppable drive to eliminate friction

Since the internet's commercial debut in the early '90s, it has captured success and upset the established order by eliminating unnecessary middlemen. Bookstores, photo shops, travel agents, stock brokers, bank tellers, and music stores are just a few examples of middlemen that have been displaced by their online counterparts.

Cloud computing also took off because it offers friduction; with cloud, companies pay for what they use, avoid large upfront capital expenditures, and gain speed to market.

There is a reason why Drupal's API-first initiative is one of the topics I've talked and written about most in 2016; it enables Drupal to "move beyond the page" and integrate with different user engagement systems that can eliminate inefficiencies and improve the user experience of traditional websites.

Contextualization and personalization will become more pervasive, especially as different systems of engagement, big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), and machine learning mature, combine, and begin to have profound impacts on the definition of a great user experience.

Systems like Acquia Lift will be of critical importance, and a premium will be placed on orchestrating the optimal customer journey.

Websites, the Internet of Things, augmented and virtual reality, and conversational UIs – all of these technologies will continue to grow because they will enable us to build lower-friction digital experiences.