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The private branch exchange (PBX) technology is continuing to advance despite pressures from local area network-based and personal computer/server-based architectures. It will continue to provide different product lines that are more dependable. Some industry leaders believe that alternatives to the PBX cannot surpass the latter's reliability and features. Others feel that PBXs will reinforce multimedia through servers integrated to Internet protocols and conferencing through integrated services digital network and public switched telephone networks., Not only is the PBX not dead, but its architectures and feature/functions are continuing to evolve. Nothing succeeds like success, or does it? The PBX industry, while larger and more [...]

Some companies that provide communications circuits are still tentative on their decision to enter the market for voice over Internet protocol because they are not sure of the what services to offer and what price to charge customers. The large carriers have realized the need to adapt to the demands of the end-users, while the new industry participants are focused on developing opportunities. The latter may have more advantages because they do not have to deal with established investments in assets and manpower and do not have any revenue stream to protect., Established carriers have yet to make a plunge, and it's too soon to tell if the newcomers will succeed. Carriers and ISPs are beginning to trial or offer voice over [...]

The successful formulation of a networking business strategy involves three components which include capacity planning, service level agreements (SLAs) and chargeback systems. However, IT staffs and end users have not yet found the right tools to support the implementation of good SLA-based chargeback schemes. Thus, its users are led to setting impractical service performance expectations with unjustifiable costs., New tools generate lots of alarms, data and reports, but IT staff still needs to scrub the information to support meaningful SLAs. One effect of distributed computing, client-server architectures and [...]

There is an increasing use of voice processing technologies among government agencies in response to the growing public demand for services, budget reductions and laws requiring the quick dissemination of information. The use of such technologies, which include interactive voice response, fax-back and voice mail, has resulted in easier access to government agencies, forms and information. A case in point is the IRS which uses these technologies to facilitate electronic filing of tax returns and to disseminate tax forms., Needing to provide more services with less money, the public sector is turning to interactive voice response. In one episode of the cartoon series The Simpsons, young Bart makes an [...]

The government, educators and corporations have increased their support for information technology (IT) in schools. However, experts have reservations about the impact of IT on education. National Education Assn. Center for Education Technology director Barbara Yentzer believes that IT should do more than teach students basic skills while Michigan's Warren Consolidated Schools assistant superintendent Dr. Mary Barry-Cybluski says that schools should keep in mind that IT is merely a tool for instruction and learning., More networking and IT is going into more schools than ever before. Can it really make the grade? If you walk into many American schools - especially in urban centers, [...]

The need for better security has been a major concern for interexchange carriers but their level of action has remained very low. Among some of the security measures that are in current use are firewalls and gateways, deploying tools for verifying user integrity, authorization and identification, virus detection software and related programs and encryption technology. Meanwhile, the rising popularity of virtual private networks, the Internet and intranets has triggered renewed interest in network security., Like the weather, everyone talks about net security. And as with the weather, many feel powerless to improve it. With the major interexchange carriers (IXCs) such as AT&T, MCI, Sprint [...]

The arrival of the millenium is expected to bring in the Year 2000 problem (Yr2k) for computing and networking systems. Yr2k refers to the problem of migrating from two- to four-digit year fields. Many programming languages are also expected to encounter minor problems with the year 1999 and the fact that 2000 will be a leap year. The communications and computing industries are finding ways to address the Yr2k challenge. Vendors are advised to better articulate their intentions and help their customers understand the impact of Yr2k on internal operations., Although some surveys of CIOs and high-level enterprise managers indicate that awareness is growing and action will be taken to correct anticipated problems stemming from what the arrival of the [...]

Business Communications Review has been documenting the evolution of telecommunication and networking technologies throughout its 25-year history. Since 1971, the publication has reviewed numerous emergent products, including protective coupling devices and electromechanical PBXs. As the publication enters its second quarter century, it is faced with countless technologies that are entirely new, such as options for wireless communications, multimedia, voice processing and desktop video., Perusing the earliest editions of Business Communications Review - circa 1971 - is like taking a trip down memory lane. Comparing the important products of 25 years ago with those [...]

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 reflects the government's desire for greater competition in all areas of the traditional telecommunications business. However, the legislation may give rise to problems because it simultaneously seeks to preserve the old telecommunication regime and usher in a new infrastructure. In addition, the Telecom Act has failed to resolve a number of controversial issues, including universal service, universal access, Internet regulation, user rights and carrier cost accounting., The passing of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was a seminal event: The U.S. government served notice that it wants more competition in all levels of the traditional telecommunications business. [...]

The financial services industry is one of the largest users of high-technology telecommunications equipment. A recent survey showed that virtual private networks and systems that support faster electronic trading are some of most attractive telecommunications equipment used by the industry. Moreover, the full impact of the Internet on the industry has yet to be seen., If you want to understand what's happening in global networks, follow the money. Networking in the financial community. Nobody knows exactly how much the financial community spends on networking technologies [...]

The increased use of email in business has also increased the threat of security breaches. However, experts claim that most users fail to realize various risks associated with email such as the loss of data integrity, difficulty of authenticating senders and recipients, and the lack of privacy. Two ways to secure email systems are the installation of firewalls and the use of encryption systems., Is your email encrypted? Should it be? Paranoia strikes the Info Age... There are now in the neighborhood of 50 vendors offering firewall products, and that is just one segment [...]

The human factor could be a problem to the security of networks. End users may not totally follow corporate security directives or even circumvent them. This is most prevalent in client-server computing, workstations, local area networks, PCs and workgroup collaboration. External modems plugged into a telephone jack for dial-out and downloading threaten security through incoming viruses downloaded by the user and dial-in access by hackers. Desktop modems should be prohibited to avoid these problems. The use of nonreusable passwords may also be implemented., Remote access and wayward personnel can make security an enterprise-wide headache. Take two firewalls and call in the morning. Above all else, security is a people problem. While the industry [...]

The Yankee Group Managing Dir. Howard Anderson believes that most companies are not properly managing their global networks. Instead, their networks are managing these businesses. Some companies do not even have real global networks. Instead, they have a chain of country networks patched together. This translates to high-cost, low-availability and high-maintenance networks that do not effectively achieve their purpose. Anderson offers some solutions to these problems., Going global raises a whole new group of networking concerns. Insights from Howard Anderson. BCR's Frank Barbetta spent some time with Howard Anderson, managing director of The Yankee Group (Boston), [...]

The growth of computer technology has made corporate networks more vulnerable to security risks, aggravated by increased usage of Internet and online services. However, companies must be warned not to let the establishment of security policy affect the business as it must be the latter that should control the policy. Security must also be implemented on the network, not on an individual level, underscoring the futility of user-generated passwords. Recommendations on the security options available are presented., Hackers aren't the only threat to network security--and firewalls aren't the only defense. Theft of intellectual property, viruses, hackers, sabotage and fraud. In a nutshell, those are among the most [...]

The entry of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system (OS) into the telecom services market is expected to heat up competition between computer server technologies. Windows NT has become the fastest growing server OS in the market, prompting the introduction of new NT-based versions of Internet Protocol and LAN telephony server products. New challenges are also in store for telecom managers with the advent of server technologies., Microsoft's (www.microsoft.com/corpinfo/) effort to bring the Windows NT operating system into career telecom systems (BCR, July 1997, p. 14) foreshadows a larger competition: Which computer server technology will come to [...]

EDS, Defense Opns. Melded Into GM Hughes Electronics DETROIT -- General Motors last week shifted Electronic Data Systems and several defense operations into GM Hughes Electronics to create a new [...]

IBM's Token Ring Delay Spurs Independents But Its De Facto Standards Rule Market Share Race LOCAL AREA NETWORKS It still has no technology of its own to deliver, but IBM [...]

InteCom's deal to sell a 15 per cent stake to Wang and Mitel's current equity talks with General Electric of the U.K. accent the fast pace of investments, joint ventures [...]

Local area networking is still in the beginning stages and one of the biggest problems is the variety of proprietary architectures, leaving the user confused as to standards and what will fulfill his personal requirements. As many as 50 companies are involved in some area of local area networks.

Burroughs Wins Sperry in $4.78B Takeover NEW YORK -- Sperry Corp. last week succumbed to a takeover by Burroughs after a $4.78 billion package hammered out by its financial advisers [...]

Key telephone systems suppliers are profiting by the availability of new customers spawned by the Bell breakup, but the rush of hardware into the market threatens to envelop them in [...]

The emergence of credibility issues surrounding the Year 2000 computer transition problem puts system vendors under scrutiny in terms of the methods they employ and the quality of information they offer to users. Furthermore, vendors have been receiving criticisms for their lack of clear response to inquiries and compliance request as well as for their inconsistent remediation techniques. These critiques of vendors' actions have resulted in growing skepticisms that can be overcome if more definitive information are provided to end users., By now it should be clear that users absolutely must have a handle on the Year 2000 (Yr2k) or 'millennium bug' problem. This is the inability of older code with [...]

The intensifying consolidation of Internet traffic carriers will ultimately result in a metered Internet. Such a development will translate into higher prices since there will be a reduction in the number of Internet service providers. Consumers should be wary of moves that will result in less competition as these have a tendency to result in less efficiency and higher prices. They are advised that what is beneficial to the carriers may be detrimental to their own interests., When the dust finally settles surrounding the colossal news about potential telecom carrier acquisitions, a whole new set of packet/fiber optic networks may be positioned to reign as supreme transport [...]

Call center managers, consultants and technology suppliers face the challenge of coping with the growing demand for Internet Email services, which have become a significant part of corporate communication systems. This has been the major issue discussed at the Incoming Call Center Management World Conference held in Denver, CO, where participants were provided with insights on implementing effective Email services to enhance call center value., Call center managers, consultants and technology suppliers are beginning to look at a potentially vexing new challenge to their business - how to handle the email messages that come into [...]

A survey of Wall Street Telecommunications Assn members has revealed that ATM ranked low among technologies creating an impact on data networking. Those that made the top 10 technologies list include the World Wide Web, email, intranets, frame relay and network monitoring as well as LAN-based applications. However, respondents perceive the demand for ATM technology in the financial community to increase in the future as the telecommunications environment becomes more sophisticated., Data networking may have a lot of hot new applications and technologies, but ATM still is not considered ready for prime time among those who equip and manage networks for [...]

Vienna Systems with US operations in Manassas, VA, will be the Global Exchange Carrier's G-Cubed network platform supplier for worldwide IP telephony. The implementation of a common gateway for ISPs will facilitate consistent network management and support capabilities which include automatic number identification, PBX-to-IP dial tone, direct dial number, transparent call routing and automated least-cost routing. This will also allow for efficient on-line billing of networking services., IP telephony for voice and fax is in its very early stages, and, as with any nascent market, conditions are fluid and developments swift - technological leapfrogs and new product [...]

The broad agreement disclosed by Williams Communications Group in Apr 1997 had caused a sudden realignment and consolidation among Nortel, Lucent Technologies, and several regional Bell operating companies. These changes on voice CPE distribution arrangements have great impact on business customers. For one, direct negotiations with the manufacturers are effectively eliminated., In the world of voice CPE, distribution arrangements tend to go for years. When these seemingly rock-solid relationships do experience change, they are often cataclysmic shakeups, like the movement of [...]

Siemens AG and Newbridge Network Corporations have signed an agreement designed to meet the demands for broadband, multiservice systems. The joint venture has so far produced the world's largest core asynchronous transfer mode carrier-class switch on the market, the MainStreetXpress 36190. The alliance also resulted in Siemens's acquisition of 5% of Broadband Networks Inc. (BNI), of which Newbridge already owns 15%. The two companies plan to integrate 36190 with BNI's digital radio technologies., Siemens AG has an almost religious conviction that by the end of the millennium, dedicated, service-specific networks will consolidate and move toward multiservice, broadband networks. Siemens sees ATM as the [...]

Cascade Communications Corp. and Ascend Communications Inc. have come up with new access and switching products for carriers, Internet service providers and large enterprise networks. Cascade's AX 800 and AX 1600 access switches, Ascend's 'The Next Thing' MAX access product, and Ascend's 'Goes For Real' 400 IP switch/router all use RISC-based architectures and other processors that are packaged to minimize total size and production cost, thereby reducing the price. They are touted to be more reliable and boast of better price/performance for different tasks., The new access and switching products introduced last month by Cascade Communications (Westford, MA) and Ascend Communications (Alameda, CA) share several general characteristics: First, the target markets for both are [...]

A virtual secure tunnel is one way of establishing a confidential pipeline for local area networks (LAN) and remote access. A communications link possesses all the elements or streaming confidential traffic through an unsecured wide area network facility. The Internet Engineering Task Force and the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers are proposing secure tunnels with remote LAN access. These involve security measures which may be used in routers, hubs, firewalls, workstations and application software., One technique for establishing a confidential pipeline for LANs and remote access is to create a 'virtual secure tunnel.' In this scenario, a specific computer session or communications link carries [...]

Cascade Communications Corp. is offering its new HyperPath Input/Output hardware modules and software add-ons in the hope of taking advantage of the popularity of integrated services digital networks (ISDN) for remote corporate access and for accessing the Internet and World Wide Web. The new offerings are partnered with the company's B-STDX 8000/9000 switching systems to make up a service platform that combines ISDN access with frame relay, asynchronous transmission mode or switched multimegabit digital services., The remote access market is hot. An important part of what s happening is the effort to make ISDN more accessible to far-flung users, to extend the use of frame [...]

Hewlett-Packard enters the mainstream corporate communications/information technology market by introducing over 20 new product offerings such as low-end boards and high-end LAN switching during the first half of 1996. These products, currently being produced by the HP Roseville Networks Div., targets three data communications markets: small, remote and central workgroups. The company plans to offer as many network solutions as possible through these new products., Reflecting Hewlett-Packard's traditional tenacity in multiple markets, HP's Roseville Networks Division (Roseville, CA) is in the midst of an extensive product blitz that addresses three datacom markets - small, remote [...]

The passage of a new telecommunications law has signaled the liberalization of telephone services in the US. Communications companies are planning to offer local and long-distance service packages to the public. Bell Atlantic and Nynex have plans for a joint development of long-distance services. On the other hand, AT&T, MCI and Sprint plan to offer local phone services with the help of competitive access providers and cable TV firms., With the passing of new federal telecommunications legislation last month, the stage is set for a 50-state free-for-all over local and long-haul service. There have already been stepped-up actions by [...]

The Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Forum formed a network security working group in 1995 to develop functional specifications covering user, signaling and management information. The need to protect both the ATM network infrastructure and the user data has been seen since its penetration into public and private networks. The forum is also working to integrate security information such as authentication and privacy into ATM's 53-byte cell structure from the incoming packets. ATM's connection-oriented character makes security breaches possible., With Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) making its way out of test beds and into public and private networks, concern about ATM security is starting to grow. How do you know [...]

Continuing its restructuring, AT & T has reorganized its equipment lines into six major business lines. AT & T Technologies Inc. is expected to play a large role in this restructuring. Independent lines include Information Systems, Network Systems, Technology Systems, Components and Electronic Systems, Federal Systems and Computer Systems Units and AT & T International.

DETRIOT -- Unisys reportedly will close an 80-member Sperry mainframe software development operation in Atlanta and shift the activities to another location within the combined Sperry-Burroughs organization. The 18-month-old Atlanta [...]

Siemens/BASF Joint Venture To Market IBM-Like CPUs With the apparent quiet acquiescence of their respective Japanese suppliers, Siemens AG and BASF AG of West Germany last week agreed to form [...]

ARMONK, N.Y. -- Reportedly impatient with the progress of a joint technical program for which it purchased 23 per cent of the PBX company, IBM last week agreed to take [...]

ITT is reorganizing its telecommunication and electronic operations by dividing the North American marketing and manufacturing organization into two units. The changes, which involve numerous personnel transfers, will be effective January 1, 1982.

PBX Firms Fight for Share of Mkt. Dominated by AT&T, N. Telecom The planned acquisition of InteCom by Wang, a proposed joint venture between GTE and Fujitsu and heavy losses [...]

Sperry, Burroughs in Talks For Merger, Valued at $3.4B; Investors Cool to Proposal Sperry Corp. last week acknowledged it had opened merger negotiations with Burroughs Corp. after the Detroit company [...]

There is a sudden acceleration of competition in the digital PBX field. American Bell promises to be a contender to deal with as it markets its upgraded System 85 and IBM's change from Mitel to Rolm is thought to be due to impatience to get into the market fast. Northern Telecom has also developed a digital PBX (SL-1S) for customers using 20 to 120 lines.

IBM and Mitel Corp. have agreed to work together to produce a customized switching system which will be aimed at usage in local area networks. Mitel will make available the core technology of its SX-2000 data-voice PBX. This new family of IBM switches will allow IBM mainframes to bridge the gap between data processing and telecommunications in office automation products.

AT&T plans to adopt the X.25 communications protocol endorsed by IBM and other computer equipment firms. The target date for network implementation of 1982 allows time for regulatory approval. The move would set AT&T into direct competition with Tymnet and Telenet in the packet switching network field.

AT & T is readying the final plan for reorganization ordered by the FCC in order for Bell to move into the open telecommunication and computer markets. By March the plan for a so-called Fully Separated Subsidiary should be operational. The reorganization is one of the most extensive ever attempted by a corporation.

Litton Industries was awarded $276 million in damages in its suit against AT & T. The five-year case charges the Bell System with anticompetitive and predatory practices which forced Litton out of the telephone interconnect business. Bell imposed the use of costly interface devices for non-Bell equipment.