Actualidad -- Octubre 31, 2006
WELCOME TO THE CONNECTED WORLD: HOW NETWORKS ARE CHANGING THE WAY WE WORK AND PLAY
This world wasn’t created overnight. Connected World: Redefining the Geography of Business and How We Work and Play (download the report), written by CSC’s a href="http://www.csc.com/aboutus/lef/index.shtml" target="_blank" id="linkContent"> Leading Edge Forum, says the connected world was created by fundamental changes in the communications and information technology industries – in particular, the formation of a single network for voice, data and video based on the Internet Protocol (IP).
The connected world has reduced the distances between countries and individuals. "There are no more traditional borders; instead, the network defines the geography of business and how we work and play in the 21st century," the report says. Fast, cheap networks have already helped India and China emerge as technology powers, since work now can be done almost as easily overseas as next door.
The report identifies several other ways that networks are changing the world. Broadband is now a low-cost utility. Wireless usage nears saturation throughout the civilized world, and mobile phones can do almost anything. Communications companies, using the Internet as a foundation, are pursuing the triple play of voice, video and data. As part of this new connected landscape, intelligence in the network has moved from the core to the devices at the edge, where users have control over that power. Corporate dependence on networks is now absolute. Formerly wired services, such as phone calls, have switched to wireless, and now back to wired with voice over IP. Such "switch backs" occur the other way, too.
The Connected World names eight connectedness trends, which will be covered in this and continuing csc.com articles. They are: the all-IP enterprise, industry crossovers, bandwidth at the edge, networks in new places, new things being connected, liquid time and place, pervasive presence, and the next frontier of mobility.
The report aims to help organizations understand not only what technology will do, but also what it currently is. It can help them address current business challenges and create technology roadmaps – to help them live and thrive in a connected world. "Imagination is the limit;" the report says, "technology is not."
All-IP enterprise
The goal in this connected world is a core network that brings all data, voice, video and applications over one network, wired or wireless. That core will be an IP network.
"The network is morphing from just plumbing to a platform for business," says Don Harden, director of the global WAN portfolio in CSC’s Global Services and Technology group. Harden says that networks are increasingly aware of the applications they support, so they know what is in a data packet and how to treat it.
One of the key technologies in use in IP networks is MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching). MPLS offers sophisticated network management which, when coupled with IP quality of service (QoS), allows a company to define multiple levels of service for different classifications of data and voice traffic. CSC helped Textron, a company with a diverse product line, create an MPLS network that would support cross-divisional functions such as human resources, sales, finance and engineering data exchange. (Read a Textron case study.)
The new network will save Textron money. It will also speed application response times and improve network reliability. CSC has connected two data centers to the Textron network, meaning that Textron is now just one hop away from consolidated server power.
Voice is one of the most important services to move to the IP network. Voice over IP (VoIP) emerged as a low-cost communications method, but has become the foundation of unified communications. Where large enterprises typically run separate voice and data networks – even multiple voice mail systems – VoIP can route calls to wherever you are, and your voicemails can reach you in your e-mail. Voice is just another data type that can be built into other information services.
Voice over IP has moved beyond its consumer roots. CSC recently launched a new service, IP Telephony Services: A Converged Networks Application. CSC manages almost one million voice ports globally and has deployed IP telephony for many clients and internally. At the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for instance, CSC is deploying VoIP to 10,000 users at its headquarters sites. This will lower the EPA’s costs and increase its network functionality.
All-IP networks will require major industry changes, including a shift from copper lines to high-bandwidth fiber cables. But the opportunities are great. "Having data, voice, video and applications running on a unified network paves the way for a frenzy of new services and industry moves," the Connected World says. "With IP the common denominator, the playing field is wide open."
Industry crossovers
The connected world has wreaked havoc on the communications and technology industries. "Companies are colliding, bumping, branching out, partnering," the report says. Telephone companies now offer TV, media companies create media for mobile phones, computing and Internet companies get into telecommunications.
For consumers, this means more choices and more confusion. For companies, it means new opportunities and new competition. What it certainly means is that single-service vendors are a thing of the past.
Bandwidth at the edge
While the core network operates at the speed of light, the trick has always been how to get there. The technology to reach the network has often run at drinking-straw speeds when we really need fire hoses. Wireless technologies have brought high bandwidth to the edges of the network, and, as the report says, "The days of un-connectedness are over for just about anywhere."
The most significant wireless technology to date is Wi-Fi, which is dotting the planet with hotspots and giving us access to the wireless network from the places we eat, work and play. But while Wi-Fi hotspots are limited to ranges of 300 feet, these hotspots are now being federated into a much larger area of coverage.
"When Wi-Fi gets viral is when it starts getting interesting," notes Paul Gustafson, director of CSC’s Leading Edge Forum. For example, a start-up named FON has almost an open-source model: Consumers voluntarily program their Wi-Fi routers to participate in a federated network and get free Wi-Fi access from any participating hotspot. Another way to extend Wi-Fi’s reach is through mesh. Wi-Fi mesh networks connect access points to each other in a mesh topology, instead of linking each hotspot to a backbone. Mesh makes it easier to expand networks to blanket cities and corporate campuses.
WiMAX, with several times the connection speed and range of Wi-Fi, is the next logical step in wireless technology. WiMAX can take broadband speeds to parts of the world where landlines had a tough time reaching. With its bandwidth, WiMAX could handle voice, data, video and mobility. But important questions regarding WiMAX, including the wireless spectrums WiMAX uses, still have to be figured out before it can reach broad adoption.
While Wi-Fi and its siblings are rooted in place, a good portion of wireless Internet traffic today comes from cellular phones, which can move anywhere. Millions of mobile users tap into broadband networks. These cellular networks are expanding in transmission speeds and function, making them a legitimate alternative to conventional wireless bandwidth. Third-generation (3G) networks have brought some order and sufficient bandwidth to the cellular world, making heavy Internet use and video downloads a real option. But future upgrades to the cellular networks will bring packet switching and dramatic increases in speed.
Cellular and Wi-Fi networks should eventually merge. That will open up new uses for the network. The report notes, "Access is potentially capable of being all mobile and all IP, providing the ultimate in convergence and a foundation for new innovations at the network’s edge."
Related Information:
Download the Connected World report.
Join the Connected World discussion at the Leading Edge Forum blog.
Learn about CSC’s Leading Edge Forum
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