10 FORCES DRIVING CORPORATE NETWORKS

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1 THE NET



A

Revolution Called Internet

No other concept of communication and

information sharing has had the effect in the last few centuries

as Internet has had. The technology that was snubbed chaotic once

upon a time now transcends national boundaries, cultures, caste,

creed, religion, and so on. Internet has now moved from being a

concept/technology to become a culture by itself. In the process,

weeding away proprietary and obsolete technologies. It has also

paved the way for many newer technologies–more open and

scalable–to be developed. This convergence-based technology

has come a long way in so short a period of time. Obliterating

the thin lines dividing voice, data, and multimedia and giving

birth to new ways of thinking and doing business.

"Find me a business

that’s not on the Web and I’ll show you a business

that’s out of touch with the future,"

Michael

Dell, founder and chairman, Dell Computer Corp.

Dell Computer sells one-third of its

products on the Net, and is the third biggest PC vendor in

the world.

 

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INTEGRATION



Time To

Integrate

Enterprises have become more organic in nature.

They today are synthesized systems with sub-systems and

sub-functions–all integrated into one whole process. The

challenge today is to make boxes and processes join hands to give

the user the best possible throughput. The growth of integration

business is a sign of the way integration is driving the

corporate networks. Functionality and cost are not anymore the

most important things for corporates. What they are increasingly

searching for is a network which suits them the most–a very

personal network which meets their unique needs in the best

possible manner.

 

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TECHNOLOGY CONSOLIDATION size="4">



Less Is Beautiful,
Simple Is Charming

Infrastructure which does not wreck one’s

brain and pocket is what corporates are after. Yes, too much

technology is a pain. It involves heavy investment and

complicated procedures. Taboos in today’s lean and mean

organizations. Hi-tech do not necessarily give way to hi-revenue.

A move to reduce complexity of networks is manifested in fewer

protocols, fewer interfaces, fewer boxes, fewer lines, fewer

management systems, and fewer suppliers. Lesser and simpler

technologies mean lesser costs and easy upgradability. Also more

time to be focused on business than on infrastructural problems.

"Changing customer requirements for global intranet solutions require a centralized approach to networking functionality on standards," color="#FF0080" size="2">Lucinda Borovick, manager, computer networking architecture research program, IDC

 

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BUSINESS PROCESS



Hello

Business!

The network is climbing up the

value chain from just being a physical part of the corporate to

become the enabler of smooth business processes. It is once more

business that is taking centrestage. Everything is designed and

fitted into the whole cycle of entities that forms a corporate.

The goal is but one–success in business. Technology affects

people, people effect technology–either for the good or the

bad. But technology and people must affect business only for the

good, if the corporate has to survive. So having just a physical

network of boxes is not enough. The network that corporates

require today is a network of people, a network of ideas, a

network of efforts–a network that best helps corporate do

good business, to be precise.

 

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FUNCTIONAL FREEDOM



Prescribed Functions

Are A No!

As employees get empowered, they are demanding

flexibility and functionality in work and resources. Knowledge

workers increasingly work whenever they prefer to and from

wherever they prefer to. Executives today work and communicate

through various means. Through slide presentations,

videoconferencing, through plain meeting, through advertising,

etc. In all, electronics has become an undividable part of

day-to-day life, especially business. It is this which has pushed

networks head-on towards enabling multiple applications to

facilitate the varied functionalities and needs of users.

Convergence of technologies is without any doubt driven by this.

The user wants his box to deliver voice, data, and video–be

it information or communication.

"Organizations must shift

from patriarchy to partnership focusing on shared power,

interdependence, and co-operation instead of control,"

J Wetherbe

Wetherbe is Federal Express Professor of

Excellence and director, Center of Cycle-Time Research at the

University of Memphis.

 

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SMALL/SINGLE-USER SITE size="4">



Out Of Sight. Not Out
Of Mind!

Independence, mobility, and need for wider

presence are the factors contributing to the emergence of small

teams, small units, mobile employees, and Small Office Home

Office (SOHO). One idea that is getting immensely popular among

corporates is to be more closer to customers. Employees are

expected to spend a lot more time with their clients.

Technologies which enable one to go out in the field and yet

remain in touch are increasingly getting popular among

corporates. This force is the driver which has influenced

networking no end. Right from modes of access like remote access

technologies and virtual private networks to very

mission-critical applications like Sales Force Automation (SFA),

businesses are looking to give employees the room and freedom to

innovate and execute–at one cost, performance.

 

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CHANNEL



The Channel Effect

hspace="0" vspace="3" width="236" height="154"> size="2">Let manufacturers concentrate on their R&D and

production. And let others do the selling. To some this may sound

good, to others it may not. But channel factor is one which

neither vendors nor users can simply ignore in today’s

scenario. It is just not realistic for a Compaq to support every

user of a Compaq PC. As demand for different network devices

increases not alone in terms of numbers but also geographically,

channels are seeing fast growth. Regional companies are

increasingly depending on the value-added resellers to give them

value for money for the things that they buy. This they demand

not only through authenticity and functionality of the boxes that

they buy, but also through support like customization,

maintenance, and upgradation. The impact this force has had on

corporate networking is clear to everyone. The fact is that OEMs

today direct more and more end users to channels than ever

before.

"Today, more than 80

percent of network users buy from channels,"

Pierre

Danon, president, Xerox Channels Group

 

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SALES RELATIONSHIP



Marriages Are Certainly

In

Long-term is in vogue today. Network devices

are not consumer goods which are bought, used, and forgotten.

Maintenance and upgradation are an utmost essentiality.

Precisely! Corporate networks need to be constantly looked after.

On the other hand, companies increasingly want to get on with

business–and have lesser time and money to spend on

infrastructure. Here, the customary sell-and-run methods are

giving way to sell-maintain-sell methods. A win-win situation for

both seller and buyer, going in for long-term marriage-like

relationships, is the new in thing in infrastructure purchasing.

 

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KNOWLEDGE



It’s Not Data,

Stupid! It’s Knowledge

Systems that support knowledge is what

enterprises require—especially in a world of information

glut. Corporates are realizing the need of leveraging the

knowledge in people to achieve more market impact. Harnessing

core competency—collective knowledge—is the buzzword

today. Networks now-a-days resemble more of small knowledge pools

bound to each other—sharing skills, problems, and a common

pursuit. Tomorrow, competition is bound to increase. And in such

a situation, the IS departments of corporates will have to move

from merely supporting processes to providing systems that

support competencies.

"You’ve got to be

experimenting like a maniac all the time or you’re going

to be eaten for lunch,"

Tom

Peters, management guru

Tom Peters, author of bestsellers like

"Liberation Management" and "Thriving On

Chaos", is regarded as the father of post-modern

management.

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SPEED



Zoom Goes The Network

Speed is the one thing

coroporates value most in today’s fast world. This makes

corporates aggressive and help them to be ahead of competition.

People want more time on thought process than rather on

execution. A real fast execution is what is preferred today. Go

slow is definitely out. Delivery is what counts. Companies

increasingly appreciate smartworking rather than hardworking.

Technology has all the way been affected by this distinct need.

Pentium chips and Gigabit networks are just some of the

manifestations.

Nareshchandra Laishram and

Ishan Ranjan