Cutting through the Market Maze

Dear Buyer

Three years ago, based on our regular interaction with enterprises, service

providers and equipment vendors, we realized the need for a yearbook that

catered to specific buying needs of various set of users. And with a little bit

of crystal ball gazing, we could see that need growing over the next few years.

Typically, these would be the users of telecom and networking products and

services.

Once we were through with conceptualization, the next task was to formulate

the content. And frankly speaking, we found ourselves at a near loss for quite

some time… there were no models to lay hands on, in India or elsewhere. But

that’s history…

This is the third successful year of publication for Goldbook.

It had to be.

Today, a buyer has to virtually wade through a maze of products and services

before he can lay hands on a right one. Selection is not an easy task. Issues

like return on investment and time-to-market weigh heavily on the CEO’s/CTO’s

mind, and he must find convincing arguments in favor or against a decision.

At the same time, purchase decisions can’t be delayed much. In fact,

businesses are getting so heavily dependent on networking and communications and

the rate of technology adoption is so high that it can be suicidal to delay the

purchase decisions beyond a point.

Only a few years ago, when there were bottlenecks all around, enterprises

could have considered it a wise idea not to have a high-bandwidth network within

the organization. Even that’s not the case any more. Bandwidth is plenty and

will soon be surplus on the backbone, and later, even on the access side. So the

challenge now is to deploy high-speed LANs and WANs–before the competition

does it.

Goldbook has been compiled to address these very buyer-related issues. Tips

on selecting the right technology and the right vendor have been provided after

talking to panels of experts. New sections like W-LAN and Enterprise IP have

been added to address the new needs of enterprises. Other sections duly reflect

the paradigm shifts that have taken place since the last year. For instance, IP

has quickly matured on the core front, and it makes ample sense, especially for

new service providers, to go for it.

We are sure that Goldbook tips will help you–the buyer of 2003–to arrive

at the right buying decisions, quickly and effectively. Happy buying!

ibrahima@cmil.com