"Thirty percent of corporations will be taking advantage of converged data, video and voice networks by the millennium," said Eric Benhamou, 3Com chairman and CEO, in his keynote address at the Enterprise conference in San Francisco. 3Com CEO predicts costs savings of converged networks during keynote to Red Herring Conference "Thirty percent of corporations will be taking advantage of converged data, video and voice networks by the millennium," Eric Benhamou, 3Com chairman and CEO, said today during a keynote address to the Herring on the Enterprise conference in San Francisco. "This convergence of networks will generate up to $10 billion in annual savings that can be reinvested in customer service, new business opportunities and new technologies." Most corporate enterprises today employ multiple network infrastructures to support applications, including voice, video and data transmissions. By converging and integrating the parallel networks, corporations will be able to substantially reduce communications, operations and network management expenses. 3Com Corporation, a leader in developing and implementing next-generation networking technology, recently estimated the global market for capital equipment to enable convergence technology in the enterprise to be $15-20 billion a year by 2003. A typical enterprise could potentially reduce its long distance telephone expense 30 to 50 percent by placing its voice traffic on the data network. "The technologies used to build data networks are now far more sophisticated and better adapted to handle multiple types of communications, including voice," said Benhamou. "We have added intelligence to our data networks -- not just in the core, but also in the access infrastructure and at the network access points -- to handle multiple classes of service over a common TCP/IP-based protocol infrastructure." The trend toward network convergence is accelerating the strategic alignment of telecommunications vendors and data networking companies. This close working relationship will yield more coherent architectures supporting converged network services across the enterprise, small business, and consumer markets. Network convergence will also lead to the development of more integrated networked applications. Benhamou predicted new uses and efficiencies for many industries, include retail, finance and education. "Among other emerging applications, network convergence will enable distance learning to deliver real time video, voice and instructional text from a classroom to a remote student, and even allow collaboration on a virtual white board." During his remarks, Benhamou outlined some of the necessary transitions to implementing next generation networks, including: * Moving the public access network from analog to DSL (digital subscriber lines) and cable technologies * Creating intelligent network access points * Further deregulation of the telecommunications industry * Developing a new generation of networked applications, adapted to converged network services * Making networks more accessible and affordable to the small business and consumer markets * Further extending the network from desktops and servers to laptops and palmtops Benhamou pointed to some large enterprises, including United Parcel Service (UPS), that are already planning to deploy next-generation networks for customer benefit and increased efficiency. "A UPS customer will often use the Web site to track a package, but still wish to speak to an operator for confirmation. The customer uses a data network for the Web transaction and a voice network for the telephone conversation. UPS is in the process of combining this parallel traffic into a single converged network in order to improve customer service and save operational costs."
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