How does BI capture the internet opportunity?

I recently read an excerpt from a book by Bill Quain titled, PRO-SUMER POWER! In it he postulates that “If the Internet were nothing more than a way to send e-mail, it would rank as one of the greatest inventions in history.” There is no dispute that the internet has fundamentally changed the way we communicate, with topics such as “e-jail” reflecting the unintended consequence of these leaps forward in technology. But through some very progressive and insightful thinking, Quain goes on to describe the internet as much more, he says, “The Internet is a library. A phone book. A daily newspaper. A video arcade. A travel agent. A museum. A bank. A stockbroker. An art gallery. An encyclopaedia. A virtual office. A photo album. A music store. A video store. A meeting room. A car dealership. A bookstore. A giant mall. Well, you get the idea.” This to me sums up how exciting new technology is and will be, but equally how challenging it is going to be for software vendor to stay abreast of consumer demands, because surely as more and more of the pre Internet generation (those that know what it is to distribute a memorandum written on company stationery via an internal distribution system in a corporate office) become accustomed to what the internet can do, and as the post Internet generation (those that socially have met more people through the internet than through pubs and clubs) mature into management and leadership positions in business – so there is increasingly going to be a demand for more “internet enabled” technology. What does this mean for us as Business Intelligence Vendors?