Transcript The Future of Unified Communications Barry Spencer, Founder and CEO www.viditel.com
The Future of Unified Communications
Barry Spencer, Founder and CEO www.viditel.com
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
Speaker Background
• • • • • • • Barry Spencer has a successful history capitalizing on emerging technology and holds a variety of innovative software patents. In the 80’s at Lotus, he designed and wrote the LIM Expanded Memory software that broke the 640K memory barrier and wrote its first implementation. He also designed the first application component using the 8087 co-processor with Lotus 1-2-3, V2.0. Spencer moved from Lotus to Borland, where he was the architect for the cell-engine for Quattro Pro, an application that was consistently recognized to the best spreadsheet throughout the early `90s. In the mid 90’s Spencer ran a software outsourcing business designing technology and software titles for companies like Borland, Novell, Oracle, General Magic, and Starfish.
Spencer founded Reality Fusion in mid-1997 to pursue interactive video. The company launched at DEMO 98 with Barry garnering the coveted DEMO God award, and the company being chosen by Fortune Magazine as one of the Top 12 Cool Companies of 1998. In the fourth quarter of 2000, the company launched the Internet's first and only group video chat community to deliver free, high-quality, real-time video and voice communication. In 2002 the technology was retargeted for business communications.
Under Spencer’s design and direction, the technology has consistently gained 3 rd party validation, winning a Network World Blue Ribbon, a 4 out of 5 star Tech TV review, another DEMO God award in 2002.
In early 2003 the company was funded by Draper Fisher Jurvetson and re-launched as Santa Cruz Networks / VidiTel.
In July 2003 the company launched VidiTel, the PC Magazine Editors’ Choice in group communications. On September 27, 2004 Spencer’s company was named to the Pulver 100 for it’s impact in real-time communications.
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
6,393,327,998 People on this Planet…
*As of September 17, 2004, 2:21:34 PM PDT
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
…Communicate
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
Communications Has Evolved Over Time
• Tribal Drums • Drawings, Words • Pony Express • Trains, Cars • Telegraph • And, about 100 years ago;
The telephone
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
The Telephone Improved
• But changes were
slow
in coming – Push buttons – Call waiting – Smaller plug -> – Caller ID
100 years October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
Changes to the telephone were slow for many reasons
• Implementation in Hardware • Monopolies aren’t motivated by competition • Government Regulation • Massive Infrastructure • Glacial Standards
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
Critical Inflection Point
The advent of IP and cellular networks is causing a worldwide disruption in the communication market.
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
The Opportunity • Eureka!
– Communications can be software – Software enhancements can be numerous and instantaneous – Enhancements will grow on an open and competitive software landscape – Numerous enhancements will prompt a mass migration from the PSTN to the Internet
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
Competition Leads to Diversity • Different networks • Different endpoints • Different modes of communication • Different service providers
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
Example: Me
• Plenty of tools – Cell phone (voice, voice messages, text messages) – Instant messaging MSN IM, AIM – Internet Services; VidiTel, Skype – E-Mail (home and work), discussion groups, etc.
– Telephone (voice, messages) • Plenty of places – Work office – Garage office – Home – Car – On-the-go
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
Symptoms of a broader problem
• • • • • • • • • • I can’t see the blinking light on my telephone at work when I’m at home.
My cell phone rings even if I’m busy on my landline.
I have to give out 3 different telephone numbers to people who want to reach me.
I forget to leave a “on vacation” message on my voicemail.
I don’t read or send text messages when I’m driving (smart!).
I can’t call my sister if my cell phone needs to be charged.
My work calendar isn’t in my car, so I can’t schedule meetings when I’m driving.
The little league calendar isn’t at work, so I can’t schedule dinner meetings.
People’s cell phone numbers change so frequently that I don’t even bother to memorize them anymore.
I can’t read all my e-mail. Currently, outlook says I have 151 unread messages.
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
The Weak Link
• Ultimately it comes down to the individual • The ability for the individual to manage all these modes of communication. Putting people on hold, scheduling and attending meetings, returning messages, logging in to voicemail, checking my e-mail, IMing with multiple people simultaneously. And… apologizing profusely to everyone who tried to contact you, but you weren’t available for one reason or another.
•
ADD
; another trait of highly successful people?
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
The Promise of Unified Communications
• Human communication – I have
human networks
• My coworkers, • my family, • my friends, • my sports team, • parents at my kid’s schools, • my church group, etc.
– I have
limitations
• I have only one set of eyes, one set of ears, one mouth and two hands all attached to one brain.
• My brain has limited storage, so I need to store calendar and contact info somewhere else.
– I
transport
my eyes, ears, mouth, hands and brain around a lot – sometimes you can find them in my office at work, sometimes at my office in my garage, sometimes in my car, sometimes in Boston, or somewhere else.
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
Goals of Unified Communications
• Competitive landscape • Multiple modes of communication • Effective management of the
singular
human resource • Availability of personalized information – Calendars – Contact lists – Notes and documents • Location independence
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
Unified Communications Shopping List
• Standards • Interoperability • Effective directory • Continued focus on decentralization • Software
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Standards • Why?
– So that communication tools can communicate with each other • Better management of the singular human resource
• What type of standards?
– Protocols, SIP, and/or APIs?
– Where do negotiations occur?
– Standards for bridging networks
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
Directory
• It’s not a single, centralized directory • Learn from Social Networks – Social networks are the phone books for the Internet – Decentralized – Self-Organizing – Always up to date
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Decentralization
• The revolution is about decentralization – Different networks – Different devices – Competitive landscape • Focus on security, privacy
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Interoperability
• The Internet is not a circuit switch network • It’s a highly complex topology – Different address spaces – Multitude of network devices, firewalls, etc.
• The last mile is brutal • No “Nutrition Label” for Internet Connections – what you get is what you get. Connection quality varies over time • No centralized services; no phone book • End point devices are highly variant; different hardware, different operating systems • Security and Privacy Issues
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
Software is the Fuel
• Communications will continue to change and improve at the speed of software • Software to focus on management of the singular human resource – Think like an adminstrative assistant!
• Software that is portable, to run on multiple endpoints • Software that leverages a the competitive marketplace of communications services.
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com
Conclusion
• The shift towards decentralized solutions opens up a competitive, unregulated marketplace.
• In this market, the early products will naturally gravitate towards non-unified solutions.
• Innovative software and services will tackle these challenges.
October 4-7, 2004 • Los Angeles, CA • www.itexpo.com