Telecoms Matures Gracefully

(Reprint of article printed in Business Brief Magazine, February 2007)

The end of phone, fax and email as we know them

The way everyone communicates is going to change drastically over the next five years.

Telephone, fax and email are the three main communications tools we use today and each has reached it’s sell by date. We’ve hit a glass-ceiling with all three and there is nothing more we can do to develop them in their current guise. Take the phone system. It has evolved over the past twenty years from a simple device allowing one person to talk to another, to a multi-feature communications tool which allows us to talk, leave voice messages, see who is calling, ring back when free and so much more.

So what’s next? What’s going to replace these three staples and when?

Before we can answer that we need to look at the main issues surrounding communications today and thankfully, there are only two.

The first big problem is with the way service providers carry our information. At the moment, such providers (such as Newtel, Jersey Telecom, Cable & Wireless et al) carry our voice calls and our data traffic - email, web browsing - on separate networks. Separate networks make it extremely difficult to provide a cohesive and integrated voice and data service to customers. Thus the reason why there is limited integration between your email system and your phone.

To overcome this, service providers are investing in and building a "next-generation" network that will bring these traditionally separate voice and data networks together – a converged network. Converged networks not only allow voice and data traffic to be carried, but also additional media such as video and TV. When these are in place, fully integrated voice, video and data services will be available to customers.

The second big problem we have in communicating today is that the tools we currently use - phone, email and fax, don’t reflect the way we naturally communicate.

Take, for example, two people wanting to complete a sales proposal together. They would check when they were both free, sit-down together, discuss the proposal face-to-face and then jointly edit the proposal before sending it off to the customer. To date, this type of personal collaboration has not been possible if both parties were physically separate. The converged network, and the applications that run on it, allows seamless mixing of all types of communications media so you can work together easily, but from any location and not just face to face.

But how?

’Presence’ based tools, allow you to see immediately if a person is available, so you don’t waste time trying to call them if they are on the phone. Even if they are on the phone, because communication on a converged network takes place in real-time i.e. instantly, we can use tools such as Instant Messaging (IM) to communicate with that person even while they are on the phone. You can therefore find out when they will be finished and let them know you need to speak to them urgently. Once that person if off the phone, which you will see, they can be invited to join you on a video call to discuss, face-to-face, the sales proposal. If the proposal needs editing, both parties can edit the document together, in real-time, just as they would if they were sitting together. Converged networks enable us to achieve the same level of personal communication and collaboration that we would have if we were in the same room.

This level of collaboration is important since independent reports from both Sage Research and Forrester Research indicate that work on vital projects in 25% of all companies, comes to a halt due to the inability to reach critical decision makers in time. The research also indicates that, on a daily basis, workers are unable to reach their co-workers on average 36% of the time. This inevitably leads to delays and missed deadlines and ultimately impacts the efficiency and profitability of an organisation.

With converged networking you are always contactable, no matter where you are. Presence-based systems allow your availability to be known and, through tools such as IM, you can be instantly contactable, in real-time.

This all sounds ideal for the office, but what about at home?

Surprisingly, it is the consumer market that is leading the way for much of these developments. With applications such as MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and Skype, many of these applications are available but, unfortunately, only through a PC.

The real benefit of converged networking in the home environment is cross-platform communications – the ability to access any service from any device. Why does the TV only deliver programs? Why do you always need to go to your PC to pick up email? And why is the phone only good for making phone calls?

Very soon, because of converged networking, all functions will be provided across all devices. Examples of this are already in the market today, with BT and Vodafone teaming up in the UK to provide TV over mobile phones, and BT piloting the use of your TV as a home videophone.

In effect, these solutions are here now but they are not widely installed. Those that are tend to be restricted to large companies or the keen home enthusiast. This is all going to change in the next two to three years as these rich media services start to become the norm.

Sounds great, but how does it help me?

The first thing it will do is simplify your life.

According to Sage Research, people these days are suffering from communications overload, using an average of six devices to communicate in various ways, all having different numbers and addresses. On a daily basis, workers have to use multiple methods of reaching co-workers on average 52% of the time!

In the future you will have one device, and one address, at home and in the office for everything.

Secondly it will make communication easier, quicker, friendlier and more effective, whether you’re at home, in the office or enjoying a coffee in Starbucks; by bringing the communications tools you need to where you are, not where your desk is.

Never again will you need to email a document to a colleague for them to edit and send back.

Never again will you waste time listening to an engaged tone or a voice message saying someone is unavailable.

Never again will you have to leave the TV to nip upstairs and check email.

The telecoms market is reaching maturity and over the next few years, the telecoms industry will produce products that really will change your life for the better and I for one, can’t wait.