The changing face of networking

Every IT and network professional appreciates that the network market is changing so rapidly that decisions made yesterday are often out of date by tomorrow. Technologies are heavily hyped by vendors wanting to put fear into decision-makers, forcing them to make choices that sometimes are not the best for the business.

We cannot afford to ignore the emergence of the newer transmission technologies that are slowly being introduced such as satellite, microwave and cellular.

This scenario is unlikely to change - ever. Vapourware is now too well established to go away. However, there are broader changes that are occurring in the networking market that are not discussed. Yet these are possibly of more critical importance than whether to go with ATM or gigabit Ethernet. Why aren`t these being discussed? Because none of the names you would traditionally associate with data communications are in a position to capitalise on the trends, and therefore have nothing to gain.

Traditionally, data communications has always been based upon landlines. Whatever the format of the network, the traffic is always carried over a telephone line buried in the ground. However, this is now starting to change and we cannot afford to ignore the emergence of the newer transmission technologies that are slowly being introduced such as satellite, microwave and cellular.

At the moment, these methods are either too expensive, too unstable or not wide spread enough (or any combination thereof) for most organisations to consider investing in them. Yet the time will come when this changes. Companies such as Motorola are investing heavily in these infrastructures and it is possible that if we look five to 10 years into the future, companies will be considering these as alternatives to the traditional data communication approach. After all, why should you be limited to sending data over a landline if it may be quicker and easier to send the same information over a satellite link or via a cellular network?

Then there is the nature of the applications that are being run across networks - multimedia has been a long-hyped buzzword but we are now seeing major players across all sectors of the market utilising multimedia applications. Another favourite industry trend - the intranet - has been a major tool in facilitating this process.

However, for organisations that have a head office, regional offices and branch offices, multimedia applications can prove to be real headaches. For one thing, most traditional networking technologies are not capable of handling video, voice, data and fax traffic effectively and compromises have to be made. Either users put up with a haphazard level of performance, or the IT department has to invest heavily in installing separate lines for video, voice and data.

And whichever route they go, the question: "How easy is it to connect the old IBM mainframe to this network?" must be asked. Again, many companies cannot easily move from their legacy systems - and indeed, would not want to as these systems often carry some of the most essential information and business-critical solutions. But how many networking vendors make it easy for their customers to effectively merge legacy SNA networks with the latest in multimedia technology? Very few deliver, although a lot of claims are made.

The market is at a turning point. We are already seeing multimedia networks being used in anger and the number will increase as time passes. We are seeing the beginning of cellular and microwave transmissions - and satellite networks are not far behind.

Because of the way the IT infrastructure in this country has evolved, you are unlikely to find businesses discarding their existing systems to start from scratch. Most organisations have too many business-critical systems in place to abandon their existing networks - they are simply running too many applications that are too important. Even if they wanted to, many firms are unable to throw away their existing infrastructures because they have invested too much money to simply write-off. The result is that we have got to a stage today where a green field site would be such a novelty to many IT directors that they may well struggle in terms of what to do.

However, this does not mean we will allow ourselves to be captured by the past. The IT industry has always demonstrated that it can bring together the old with the new to deliver both real and supposed benefits to the end-user. Have no doubt - this will continue.

We have to make sure we do not get trapped into a path of convenience that comes with familiarity. We are potentially looking at a quantum shift in the way that data and voice are moved around the world. And the danger with this is that we resort to the tried and tested companies to help take us there.

Are the traditional data communications companies really equipped to handle the market as it will change in the future? The answer has to be "no". Instead it is organisations such as Motorola, Microsoft and Intel which are better positioned. They have a broader focus on the technology market as a whole, understand how technologies can work together and are prepared to commit resources to research and development. By helping to pioneer the future, these companies have a better understanding of how the emerging network technologies can work to provide real solutions to real organisations. These organisations are not captured by their heritage and therefore are not trapped in the past.

Compare this with the big name data communications players of today who, more often than not, simply make up for their lack of knowledge by buying up companies that know what they are doing, and then attempt to integrate these products into their own product range. Tell me who wins in that scenario, as it certainly isn`t the user.

Everyone in IT recognises that we live in a changing world. It was less than 20 years ago when far-sighted individuals introduced the PC and it was less than five years ago when the Internet first took off commercially. These had a radical impact on the world in which we live and work. Today, the networking industry faces the same challenge - look five years down the line. Where are we going to be?

Maybe it is time for the IT department to consider spreading its wings a little further than before, if it is really going to deliver the best business network to its end-users in the future.