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A Brainstorming Session on Open Standards|
- By Abhinna Shreshtha, May 30, 2008 1829 hrs IST
- Tags : A Brainstorming Session on Open Standards
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With the concept of using technologies that are non-proprietary and easily interoperable gaining ground, IT managers are starting to ask how they can use such technologies in different facets of the IT architecture. Use of open source technologies and open standards is still some way from seeing widespread deployment. There are still compliance issues, with CIOs, in general, hesitant when it comes to embracing open standards.
Against this backdrop, the latest installment of CXOtoday's key series of events - PowerBreakfast, was held in Bangalore on May 27, 2008. The discussion focused on utilizing open standards while building an organization's communications network. Christopher Rajiah, director (global sales) of Avaya felt that using open standards could lay the foundation of a reliable and scalable network while reducing over dependence on a particular vendor. In fact, the question of how to maintain an optimum vendor-user relationship was raised by Chris during his presentation too. Chris also talked about the need of convergence in the enterprise.
Most of the dignitaries present open standards could add a whole new dimension to the network architecture. However, a common concern was what to do when one already has a set of networks in place. Obviously, after making heavy investments in getting the network in place, an IT manager wouldn't be keen on stripping it down and replacing it, especially if there is no clear indication of the business benefits involved.
This question was put by Ranganath Jois, director (information systems) of Sasken Communication, and also the moderator for the event, to the group. One suggestion was that a CIO should focus on scalability - whether the CIO feels his current network can scale to allow for future growth. Only if the CIO feels his current switches are not capable of this scalability, should he opt for changing the network, and in that case, an open standards-based network is a very good bet.
The group unanimously agreed that implementation of such a network could be best achieved in phases. Though all agreed that open standards could benefit the organization, there was a certain section concerned with the modular nature of the operating system used to control the switches in an 'open' network. Their concern stemmed from the fact that using modular operating systems is viewed as a risky proposition. A brainstorming debate ensued on this point, with the attendees debating over the relative pros and cons of using modular switches.
Gaurav Sethi assistant manager (data and IIS business unit) of Avaya, during his presentation, explained in depth about the partnership between Avaya, Juniper, Extreme, etc., and how they are advocating the use of open standards in building communication networks. He also touched upon the various solutions this alliance offers.
By the end of the session, most of the CIOs agreed open standards could address many areas in the network infrastructure -- cost savings, power efficiency, better interoperatibility, and avoidance of vendor lockdowns. However, before large-scale adoption is seen, it will be necessary to promote more awareness, with efforts to remove the various apprehensions concerning open source.
Anilkumar J.V.J., CTO of Evangelsoft, probably summed it up best, "Open source needs to gain more recognition. Events such as PowerBreakfast are a good platform, especially for startups, to learn about new things happening in the IT field and how it can be leveraged for creating a better business."
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Discussion Board
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by chanakya on Jun 04, 2008 10:11 AMMinds start getting shut when the pandora's box called the Open Source opens up. Bill has instilled the most despicable culture on the "Shut Source" with a mind preoccupied mainly with revenues. However, the global tolerance has just been too long on this issue and unless Bill realizes this, his empire would gradually crumble to give way to the tsunami of Open Source. He and Ballmer think they are too smart; however, they have both carried this too far beyond the global tolerance.
