Executive Summary

In contrast to the relatively simple and logical process of choosing a basic videoconferencing system, evaluating network strategies and emerging technologies can be a challenging and sometimes daunting task. These rapidly evolving technologies include multipoint conferencing, collaborative computing, distribution of video-on-demand, mobile applications, Web-based videoconferencing, and, of course, the basic choices involving local and wide area network type and configuration.

This difficulty is due in part to the complex synergetic effect of hundreds of factors, including the technologies themselves, the business factors that will effect their future development, and the impact that all of these will have on the way we communicate and work. It is also sad but true that just because a technology offers significant user benefits, there is no assurance that it will be fully developed in the future, and just because a new tool is readily available, it does not mean that it will be widely used.

For example, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) to the desktop offered many advantages over Ethernet, yet it is dying a lingering death. Ethernet has been bolstered by ingenious make-do constructions of software and hardware to provide the quality of service (QoS) required for high-quality video, etc., but at a loss of several years and several billion dollars. No two IS experts seem to agree on why this happened, but Byzantine industry politics and the reluctance of technical managers to adopt unfamiliar tools are among the many reasons that have been suggested.

Collaborative computing is perhaps a better example.