Converging Technologies.

A new era in communications is about to begin.

Communications -- it's the lifeblood of every organization. In our increasingly wired world, the company with the best connections usually wins the race for market share. In recent years, however, it's been tough for management to keep abreast of a veritable onslaught of technological developments. Given the myriad of choices in phone and fax, cellular, cable and satellite, e-mail and the Internet, as well as a plethora of new software packages emerging almost daily, the task of structuring a modern company's communications system has posed administrative as well as strategic complexities.

On top of technical assessments of cost, features, reliability, and expansion capacity, IT staff have had to consider compatibility and figure out how all the different components of their communications "mix" could be integrated to maximize strategic advantage. Administrative costs for the resulting tapestry of products and services have been considerable, and bottlenecks inevitably restricted operational efficiency.

The latest big development in communications, however, promises to alter corporate (and personal) communications almost as much as did Alexander Graham Bell. In the industry it's called "convergence" -- the grail of a single seamless communications service for all voice and data (including video) transmissions, wired or wireless. And we're almost there.

The pursuit of this milestone in communications evolution has been fueled by technological developments in the past few years, as well as by exponential growth in demand both from businesses and consumers. Governmental deregulation has also been a factor.

The increasingly "open" market environment in North America, and to a growing degree around the world, has fostered a spate of telecom mergers, acquisitions and alliances in recent years and months. The strategic objective in most cases has been to create an entity capable of assembling and delivering "all-inclusive" bundles of communications services, to individuals as well as businesses.

"Deregulation has made it easier for companies to provide products and services that they previously did not have, or weren't allowed to offer," says Barrie Baptie, CMA, FCMA and chief financial officer at Vancouver-based Telus Corporation. Telus' recent purchase of the Clearnet cellular service is a case in point, as is the BCE Inc./Thomson Corp. marriage that took place this past September.

On the technical front, the "bandwidth" required to efficiently carry exponentially-higher traffic volumes now exists on ordinary "copper pair" phone lines, thanks to fiber optics and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM). Cable has always had high-speed capability -- the trick there has been to develop a system providing interactive, two-way traffic on what had been a one-way street, as well as to gain access to wireless channels.

The pursuit of these goals has been aided by the introduction of new infrastructural devices -- servers, switches, handsets, etc. -- using increasingly powerful yet cheap microprocessors. Meanwhile, new Internet technologies and software based on Voice-Over-Internet Protocol (VOIP) are being designed to facilitate access, transmission and processing at the user end.

Convergence is itself a product of the fusion of all these developments, and it holds great promise for business and consumers. In commerce, it translates into the ability to move torrents of data, video and voices almost instantly to desktops and ultimately to handheld or laptop units any where in the world.

"Companies currently using separate communications sys terms are going to be able to merge them into a single Internet-based system that will provide better reliability, lower complexity, lower cost, and vastly increased performance," says Baptie. "Convergence is also going to mean new software capabilities to manipulate and use masses of information in a more efficient, cost-effective manner."

"Convergence and voice-over-Internet is going to change the face of how people do business and communicate," says Fred Souper, manager at DMR Consulting Inc.'s St. John, NB office. "Most companies currently have separate systems for their telephones, for Internet and e-mail, for television hook-ups, and in larger companies they may have a dedicated intranet as well. There's no reason why they can't have the same interface for all of these.

A single, fully-integrated system will translate into dramatically reduced administrative as well as service costs, but at the same time capabilities will soar. "The price is going to fall but at the same time, you will be getting so much more for your money," says Baptie. "This evolution is just beginning."

Among other benefits, Baptie predicts the cost of long-distance telephony will plummet over the next five years as Internet-based voice services make location irrelevant. Carriers will have to seek revenues through volume-based fees and Web banner advertising instead.

For many companies, the potential cost savings go well beyond long-distance. Souper cites the example of an employee of a large corporation who is moving to an office across the country and wants to retain the same phone number. "That can be a major service order set," he says. "Who writes the order, who calls Bell, who sets up the new account, and what does it cost in terms of time and money?

"With the Internet, the system doesn't have to worry that you're sitting somewhere else," Souper notes. "The system knows where you are as soon as you log on, and all future calls get routed there automatically, no changes required. That's a big savings.

"If you're going to log onto the Internet anyway, why not use it for voice transmissions too? It's not going to cost you any more because you're already online. And it doesn't take a lot of capacity to add voice to your Internet service."

The goal of that single seamless Internet-based service meeting all of an organization's communications needs is tantalizingly close. "There are Internet-based systems capable of handling voice and data now," says Souper. "They've been tested and they work.

"The question you have to ask now is, 'Can it do this or do that?'" Souper adds. "Does it have all the features you need, or do you have to wait until the next version of the software comes Out? What we're going to see over the next few years is the introduction of increasingly rich software applications capable of doing far more than is possible today."

As an example of what's already available, Vancouver-based Group Telecom Inc.'s new GT Message Connect unified messaging service enables businesses to access incoming fax, e-mail or voice-mail from one integrated mailbox.

"With this service, our customers can access all of their messages from anywhere, anytime, through a phone or PC," says Steven Koles, senior vice-president of marketing for GT, at the time the service was announced last November. The GT service includes features such as call answer, Web-based system administration, full-featured voice messaging, fax redirect, inbound message notification and text-to-speech.

In April 2000, GT announced the introduction of its GT eCommerce CONNECT, a portfolio of Web-related applications designed to help small and medium-sized businesses establish a presence on the Internet. And Michael Aymong, executive vice-president of sales, marketing and customer service, adds that the company is currently conducting Beta tests on full VOIP systems.

Across the country in Moncton, NB, NBTel (now part of Aliant Inc.) is also testing VOIP. According to Michael Costello, CMA and vice-president of NBTel, theirs was the first telephone company in North America to offer what it calls "VibeVision" -- fully interactive digital television along with Internet service over standard phone lines. This past summer it also introduced business-oriented packages combining Internet, cellular and core local/long-distance service.

"Our customers said they were looking for simplicity in their dealings with us, so these bundled services are a way of meeting their needs," says Costello. He acknowledges that the voice transmissions are not over the Internet yet, so long-distance charges still apply. "Voice-over-Internet technology isn't quite there yet. There are still problems, for example, with voice clipping, but they'll be resolved pretty soon."

The University of Ottawa's MCR Lab, under the auspices of the National Centres of Excellence, has developed a "tele-learning" product entitled Java-Enabled Telecollaboration System (JETS) that enables PC, Mac or Sun operating system users to share an Internet-based platform for simultaneous voice and data interchange.

JETS has applications ranging from kindergarten through to universities or workplaces. "For example, if a researcher is stuck, the computer can do a search on the Internet, and open a direct two-way link with any of millions of professors or professionals around the world," says project leader Nicolas Georganas. "They can conduct a dialogue while bringing a presentation onto the screen, and see real-time inputs at both ends of the line.

"It has the potential to revolutionize the teaching and learning process," Georganas adds. "JETS is an educational tool that enables the teacher and student to simultaneously talk and share what's on the screen, to see it and work on it together at the same time."

For its part, Telus is beginning trials on offering video on demand to its Assymetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) customers through a partnership with Blockbuster Video Canada Inc. and Enron Corporation. The company is also developing a system that integrates video, data and voice together on a single wired or wireless channel, although Baptie notes that the cellular connection is still relatively slow. "For doing that [carrying voice, video and data simultaneously over wireless lines], we'll need third-generation systems which are still a few years away."

Nevertheless, convergence via VOIP is well underway, and to suggest that it will dramatically alter the way some companies conduct business would be an understatement. "The winners in the future are going to the companies in the forefront of this technology, the ones that exploit it to provide increased functionality," says Baptie.

"Even traditional companies that use bricks and mortar to deliver product are going to have to get onto the Internet," Baptie adds. "They are going to have to decide how they're going to get on, how they'll use the medium as a sales tool, and how it can supply their communications needs."

Senior executives will have to re-evaluate their organizational structure and capabilities in preparation for convergence. As the technology becomes more powerful and efficient, companies will need the flexibility to adapt speedily to keep up with changing markets and growing competition; this will mean, among other things, that workforces will need to be acclimatized to working under extremely dynamic conditions.

As well, customer relationships will become increasingly important, as consumers benefit from greater access to more options via the Internet, and demand more from their suppliers. Customer service will become more critical to a company's success and that will depend, in large part, on fast efficient communications.

Firms will need to be cautious in jumping onto the VOIP bandwagon at this point, though. Essential as it may become, the technology is still novel and therefore in a state of flux. "This is not a repackaging of old systems, this is something entirely new," says Baptie. "The technology is still in its infancy."

As such, the so-called standards and protocols being used today are not yet engraved in stone, and still may be subject to change. Senior management, and IT staff in particular, will have to be circumspect as they move into a new era in communications technology, and try to avoid solutions that prove to be costly interim measures.

Nevertheless, a communications revolution is about to arrive. Companies should be prepared to make the most of it - or fall by the wayside as better-connected competitors take to the forefront.