eFusion's Ajit Pendse says Net telephony can link people to PCs [ASND partner]
infoworld.com
July 20, 1998
By Laura Kujubu
InfoWorld Electric
Internet telephony is gradually becoming more than just hype in the industry, as companies such as applications gateway provider eFusion are creating ways to make it a realistic business solution. The company has produced enhanced Internet services application gateways to allow traditional phone services -- such as call-waiting and
directory assistance -- using IP telephony, as well as Interactive Web Response systems
for call centers. These systems allow Internet subscribers to use one phone to speak with
a customer representative while browsing the company's Web page. InfoWorld reporter
Laura Kujubu spoke with Ajit Pendse, president and CEO of eFusion, about what is in
store for the maturing technology.
InfoWorld: What do you think it is going to take to get businesses to adopt Internet
telephony?
Pendse: They're going to have to make some changes. For example, e-commerce: What
we've forgotten in the world of electronic commerce is the people component. Internet
telephony brings that component in, and I believe that it is people who can make the
difference in creating or enabling Web transactions and can provide the comfort in doing
business with a merchant.
So what needs to be done to make Internet telephony applications mainstream is to blend
them with existing ways of doing business. Make it as transparent as possible. And the
only way I think transparency will happen is when application services are brought into the
Internet overall.
We still need to change our thought processes a little bit. Voice over IP is not about
bypassing the telephone company. Widespread adoption of IP telephony will be through
the new applications, and when we do that, we really need to make sure that widespread
adoption is enhanced or aided by simple, easy-to-use user interfaces.
InfoWorld: What will be the migration path of IP telephony in the business world?
Pendse: Right now, the first phase is what we call "push to talk" to a merchant. You're a
Web-centric consumer, you push a button to talk, you then speak with a merchant.
The next phase is when a customer is looking at an e-commerce site and speaks with an
agent at the same time, because there's not enough information on the site. We understand
from different sources that maybe as many as 70 percent of all e-commerce shopping
carts get abandoned because there's not enough information on a Web site. So first,
there's voice, and then voice and data collaboration.
The third evolution of this phase -- or the third phase in applications -- would be for the
telecommuter: allowing the remote user to get voice and data access transparently by
being connected to the Internet.
The next wave would be that the PBX we know today is going to be replaced by an IP
PBX. And their main transport pipe will no longer be a PSTN [public switched telephone
network].
InfoWorld: How are the Internet telephony issues of interoperability and quality of
service going to be addressed?
Pendse: We see this market evolving in stages: small trials and lab evaluations, then
moving into market trials and then market deployment. And some of the early players are
now in market trials. When it comes to market deployment, all vendors will make their
hardware interoperate at the H.323 standard level, and I think there is a move in the
market to do that.
As far as quality of service, businesses today have either their own private networks or
virtual private networks that they get from their telco to connect multiple business location
[lines], called data lines or tie lines. Those tie lines are going to be replaced by big IP
pipes going from their PBX or their LAN into some large carrier's network. That large
carrier's network is going to be engineered for quality of service.
So what we need to do is differentiate between what can happen in a large engineered
IP-based network, as opposed to quality of service on the broad Internet, which nobody
has any control of.
We think businesses will migrate to carriers with these large engineered backbones that
provide that quality of service. We already see that happening with companies such as
Qwest and, hopefully, Level 3, as it builds its network. And we'll also see some alliances
taking place to feed traffic into that network.
InfoWorld: What are some Internet telephony applications of the future?
Pendse: For example, when you get a call at home or at work, you can put one call on
hold, take the other call, or bridge the two calls. Those types of applications are missing in
IP telephony.
Another example is, for instance, you are working from home and you could be logged in
to your corporate network over a DSL [Digital Subscriber Line] connection and
somebody calls you through your PBX. What happens today is, you're not at your desk
and your voice mail takes a message for you. But imagine if there was an application
server someplace that knew the call was intended for you, then transferred that call,
worked that into an IP format, and presented it to you on your PC while you were doing
work.
You click on a button, and you accept the call. And you can talk with this person while
you're online. These are the kinds of applications that we see developing over the long
term.
InfoWorld: Do you think DSL or cable is better suited for IP telephony?
Pendse: The bottom line is that we, as consumers, have a lot to gain from either of these
technologies. We believe cable modem and DSL access are all good. Our IP-based
applications will work with any IP layer, regardless of the transport method.
If we can make an Internet telephony call transport-independent and as transparent to the
end-user as possible -- and still be able to provide new applications and new ways of
doing business that mirror today's way of doing business, but do it more efficiently -- that
would be Nirvana.
InfoWorld: What do you think are the challenges in the future for IP telephony?
Pendse: One area in which we think we can add value is in the area of wireless IP
infrastructure. It's beginning to emerge, but there are not many players there.
Another area where I think there is a large number of opportunities is in the area of
packaging our applications with equipment from, for example, DSL companies.
These are all areas of opportunities, and we're actively looking for alliances.
InfoWorld: What do you see as the network of the future -- will that mean the
elimination of the PSTN?
Pendse: There are going to be components from the PSTN that we're going to bring over
to the IP network. I don't see that tomorrow will mean the death of the PSTN.
However, we do see IP networks dominating in the future; but in the meantime, a blending
of the networks will continue.
It's basically an ecosystem. The ecosystem has four components. One is end-user
interfaces, such as a 10-digit keypad or a PC interface. The other is intelligence from the
telephone network. For example, the telephone network has SS7 [Signaling System 7]
signaling and other things, such as computer-telephony integration, which can manage calls
in a call center. That's part of what we call the intelligence from the PSTN network.
Then there is the IP infrastructure itself. And the fourth one is things such as operations,
administration, management, provisioning, and billing -- all features that the PSTN knows
well, unlike the IP network.
So what we are trying to do with our applications is essentially glue all of this together to
create intelligent applications that the IP network doesn't have today. And it's not a battle
between IP infrastructure and the PSTN infrastructure. The benefits in each of those
elements -- the end-user interface, the PSTN interfaces -- we've got to blend all of them
to provide the simplest, cleanest usage model possible, and surrender it into electronic
format.
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