Advertisment

The Meeting Point

author-image
VoicenData Bureau
New Update

It has all the ingredients of a dream

story. But this dream certainly has a touch of reality which will

come true. The hot topic of this dream story is none other than

convergence. By "convergence", we mean the meeting

point of voice, data, and image or a process to integrate

different technolgies.

Advertisment

To make this reality happen, the need

of the hour is an imaginative and intelligent appreciation of the

potential of convergence of technologies.

 

What Is Convergence?

Advertisment

Here we are trying to give a

few definitions of convergence. The first one we call "the

basic concept". It defines convergence as the coming

together of networks, terminal devices, and applications. On the

network side is the telecom, data, and entertainment networks.

Telephone, computer, and television stand on the terminal devices

side. And on the part of application stands corporates, Defence,

consumers, etc.

Naturally, the question then arises is how is

it possible? Primarily, because the networks have been

digitalized, especially the telecommunication networks. Cable TV

networks are currently undergoing the same change. In the

process, these networks are adding more users. More important is

the access across these networks. It is provided in the form of

specialized applications and intelligence embedded in the

networks.

Digital networks have the unique ability to

treat all information streams as a digital bit stream. ATM-based

networks accomodate information with predictable levels of delay.

Even the studies are moving in this direction. Some analysts have

predicted that the information riding over the Information Super

Highway will be 98 percent digital by the year 2001.

Advertisment

Meanwhile, the rules of the game have also

assumed new proportions. With the development of optical fibre

and the micro processor, ground rules of network design are

changing. On the economic front, the cost of transmission has

declined by one third over the past 15 years. And the net results

are the new opportunities in multi vendor-compatible optical

networks transporting digital information at low costs. To add to

the advantages are the advances taking place in the area of

lightwave transmission. Now 2.5 Gbps commercial fibre systems are

estimated to reach a trillion bit capacity system by 2002. The

experimental trillion bit system has already been demonstrated by

the scientists at the Bell Labs.

"The basic

concept" defines convergence as the coming together

of networks, terminal devices, and applications.

The second definition of covergence, we would

like to call, is "network convergence". Here, the

digital foundation of contemporary and developing networks lies

in the convergence of computers, communications, and

applications. It mainly comprises computer elements embedded in a

large number of computing systems providing specialized

applications.

Advertisment

In a network-centric scenario of convergence,

two main constituents play the vital role–application server

and content server. The application servers will provide large

number of client points of network access for sophisticated

telephony, computing, video, and image. Meanwhile, media servers

will store vast volumes of video information. It will be provided

to end user devices on schedule and demand basis.

The third and final definition will be called

"information concept of convergence". It is the

convergence of information provided by print, computer, audio,

video, etc. Gone are the days when print information was provided

via physical distribution network. Now you can access The New

York Times
here in India through Internet at the same time as

it comes on the stands in the US. The surmounted barricades here

are time and distance. The advent of Internet paved the way for

the transfer of information crossing the traditional borders of

organization. With the convergence of technologies, any one can

access any kind of information anywhere in the world irrespective

of the media source. In a nutshell, the following are the features

of convergence.

  • "Any-to-any" networking where

    networking solutions will be platform independent.
  • Seamless information flow.
  • Cross industry access (IT,

    telecommunications, etc.).
  • Digitalization of the data.
  • Intelligent equipment.
Advertisment

Convergence has been a matter of serious

discussion in the industry for years. Signs are already visible

for the transmission of this much publicized dream into a

reality. Look at the following indications.

  • PC penetration in the corporate and

    individual market is ever increasing. And also for PC

    computing, power, intelligence, new applications,

    products, and services are at the fore front.
  • Information is the key word for any

    successful business decision. PC assumes the role of an

    access, process, and display tool.
  • The regulatory obstacles are being removed

    slowly which will give cross-industry alliances in the

    communication and IT fields.
  • Popularity growth and utility of Internet

    are increasing by leaps and bounds. It is emerging as the

    most significant medium for convergence.

Then it is the turn of the components of

convergence. The impression gaining ground is that the players

will reposition across five functional areas. These being, create

(content); store (databases); display (devices); process

(applications); and distribute (transport).

Advertisment

When customers begin to use and rely on the new

multimedia services, the area of operations is likely to reduce

to three. Experts feel in the new scenario the industry will

consist of companies specializing in networks, devices, or

content.

Network business will evolve from simply

providing the transport conduits. It will not only include the

distribution of multimedia services but also the supply of

value-added information processing. In the meantime, the business

devices will grow to encompass display as well as multimedia

information storage. However, content creation will remain

separate and is likely to emerge as the industry’s power

house. With the availability and rapidly falling price of

hardware and dramatic drop in the cost of digital transmission,

the users will need access to multimedia content.

The second

definition of covergence is "network

convergence". Here, the digital foundation of

contemporary and developing networks lies in the

convergence of computers, communications, and

applications.
Advertisment

Now we are coming to the practical aspects. It

is a game of complexities. Needless to say any-to-any networking

must accommodate a host of legacy and leading-edge technologies.

In this context, the question that assumes

significance is what technologies have to converge to make

any-to-any networking a reality. As said earlier, the hardware,

software, networking, access, data communication, broadcasting,

and Internet technologies will have to work towards a common

platform for convergence to be a reality. Says S Viswanathan,

manager (technical), Datacraft RPG, "It means that the

software should be able to run on any hardware using any

networking technology for communication. Above all, you also need

the infrastructure to support the latest developments in the

field of computers and communications." In this regard, the regulatory and economic

concepts and issues are to be addressed. Normally, these issues

will differ from country to country. But at the same time, in a

generic sense some issues are removing the barriers between

industries. For instance, take the case of utilizing cable

networks for receiving voice telephony, video-on-demand, TV

channel programs, Internet access, etc. Another hurdle lies in

allowing hybrid networks consisting of VSATs, leased lines, and

microwave to build corporate networks. The issues do not come to

an end here. Says Subodh Shukla, general manager, Datacraft RPG,

"Monopolistic practices are to be eliminated to allow free

investment to build infrastructure and access networks. When the

competition increases, users will get value for their

money."

When the above mentioned hurdles are removed, a

close synergy is required between various business vendors. Of

course, the ultimate solution will be a mix of technologies. It

seems the application development is necessary to the telecom

providers. The telecom operators have to transmit data along with

voice and video images. It will be a scenario in which software

developers, telecom providers, and IT vendors work together. A

situation in which each one has to understand what the other is

doing. The service providers need to understand the need of the

corporate users, individual users, and application developers,

who are independently developing data-based communication

solutions.

Is cable TV network a way to deliver data,

PSINet? Answers Viswanathan of Datacraft RPG, "Cable TV

network operators already have the cabling infrastructure in

place and need to invest only on a few amplifiers/repeaters in

their network. It will be easy to deliver data on the cable

network." Today cable modems with very high access rate are

available. Although there are no standards for cable modems now,

they are likely to be set in the future.

On the technological front too, some ideas are

gaining ground. ISDN is one among them. No doubt, it will provide

access to information at a faster speed. It will be useful in

providing more bandwidth to the users. Since the maximum

bandwidth is 128 kbps, ISDN cannot be used in the backbone

technology. There seems to be no debate on the backbone

technology in the case of ATM-switched platform. Says

Viswanathan, "Core networking would be ATM-based on which IP

traffic will flow. The important feature would be the performance

and cost factors." All points lead to a consensus–an

evolving telecom world in which data communication,

internetworking, and any-to-any connectivity are essential within

companies and among enterprise networks. But the million dollar

question is when will it be possible? Industry watchers differ on

the vexed question. The available indications lead to a

conclusion that any-to- any digital networking will be a vital

part of the global communications by the first half of the next

decade.

E-commerce

As a special case of

convergence, we are analyzing the scenario in E-commerce. Gone

are the days when IT was just a matter of office automation. But

in the changing scenario, IT has to play a pivotal role in the

complex arena of business. It involves the deployment of networks

designed to cross the traditional borders of organization.

These inter-organizational systems paved the

way for the creation of electronic channels. And the net result

is enhanced productivity, improved flexibility, and crucial

competitive advantage. With the proliferation of Internet, these

channels can be effectively deployed by using various

technologies.

The technologies ranging from Electronic Data

Interchange (EDI) to Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) come under

the common category of Electronic Commerce or E-commerce as it is

better known. It begins with the deployment of EDI which is an

application-to-application exchange of business documents using a

standard. It has been traditionally used in conjunction with

Value Added Networks (VANs), which facilitate mailboxing,

tracking, and archiving of documents. But despite its long

history of 25 years, EDI has never been popular whereas much is

expeted from Internet- based transactions. According to GE

Information Systems estimate, only 100,000 companies use EDI out

of a potential world-wide market of two million firms. The reasons for the dismal performance are

simple. It is expensive and proprietary. Moreover, it was

implemented primarily on major and continous procurements from

large suppliers. With Internet and IP protocols, the signs of

change are visible. Now the question doing the rounds is, can

Internet standards bring EDI to everyone?

The third

definition will be called "information concept of

convergence". It is the convergence of information

provided by print, computer, audio, video, etc.

The idea gaining ground is to take the EDI

standards and experience and to make it work along with the basic

structure of EDI code. In short, the idea is to encapsulate and

converge EDI into Internet interfaces. But problems also exist.

Internet still faces security concerns and though technologies

such as Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) are coming up,

business organizations continue to use the services of VANs for

doing EDI. As per reliable estimates, in the US alone, growth of

EDI has been significantly higher after the upsurge of Internet.

However, Internet-based business-to-business

E-commerce is attracting considerable interest. To add to the

advatages are the EDI capabilities, which will enable it to

expand new classes of users. Forrester Research forecasts a

market of $66 billion by the year 2000, while Yankee Group puts

the figures twice that size. Forrester Group also predicted that

spending on Internet commerce will increase from $22 million in

1996 to $3.2 billion by the end of this century. All predictions

point to the conclusion that the opportunities are high.

While Internet continues to be causing much

hype, certain solid business reasons are emerging in favour of

adopting E-commerce.

  • Opportunities to cut overall costs and

    expand profitability.
  • The expanding business networks

    snowballing into more business opportunities for their

    members.
  • As IP continues to dominate within

    businesses of all sizes, the companies will have access

    to the hardware, software, staff, and communication

    facilities needed to move into E-commerce.

For broad based E-commerce, all the numbers

seem to be in place for the time being. It is already happening

in the US and other developed nations. In a survey published by

CommerceNet, an industry consortium, and Nielson, a media

research firm, more than 70 percent of Internet users had used

the web for shopping during a particular month. By the year 2000,

46 million consumers in America alone will buy on-line, spending

at an average of $350 a year, says the projections of

International Data, a Massachusetts consultancy. Consumer

Internet transactions in 1996 were to the tune of $500-600

million.

The ground swell in India is clearly apparent.

The Ministry of Commerce is aggerssively driving EDI at ports,

customs, export councils, and excise departments. The governments

in Singapore and Europe have already issued deadlines for EDI

compliance in India. In the short run, we can expect a headlong

rush into EDI by exporters along the lines of ISO 9000

certification. Broad based E-commerce is likely to appear as a

business strategy by industry leaders. According to experts,

organizations which have made significant IT investments in

networks and ERP software will be among the first to take off on

E-commerce. Global competition will be another important driver

to make E-commerce an important tool with corporates.

But the slow growth of E-commerce, after

Internet has taken off, has been a matter of disappointment. One

thing that deserves serious attention is the fact that most of

the predictions about E-commerce few years ago have turned out to

be wrong. For instance, the road to success lies in

business-to-business commerce rather than in consumer shopping.

This could prove wrong. The shift to Internet makes the business

transaction process cheaper, faster, and easier. Secondly, the

industry’s definition of E-commerce was too narrow. Most

analysis included only transactions carried out on Internet. But

in practice, consumers do research on their purchases on-line

before making the purchase. Third, the on-line readers are not

the traditional commercial giants. Interestingly, most of the firms having web

site are not conducting transactions on the web. The reasons for

setting up web sites are to market their wares and help their

customers save money in the process. However, on-line commerce

seems suited to services like finance, travel, and automobiles.

This can be gauged from the fact that in the past their physical

counterparts have benefited from the general public’s

limited access to information.

In practice, the promise of a seamless global

market is still a dream. A new set of Internet currencies was

prepared to resist the attack by hackers. Now the promoters of

such payment systems are struggling. The truth is that very few

companies are making money out of E-commerce, while plenty are

trying. 

Advertisment