To ALL. FYI
****Comdex - Late-Breaking News PowerPanel 11/19/97
Newsbytes, Wednesday, November 19, 1997 at 15:24
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1997 NOV 19 (NB) -- By Ian Stokell,
Newsbytes. John Chambers, president and chief executive officer
(CEO) of Cisco Systems Inc., [NASDAQ:CSCO] and David House,
chairman, president, and CEO of Bay Networks [NYSE:BAY] were just
two of the featured networking heavy hitters participating in the
Late-Breaking News PowerPanel at Comdex Tuesday.
The session was chaired by Howard Anderson, founder and now managing
director of the Yankee Group, and also featured IBM's Ellen Hancock.
A variety of networking scenarios and questions were posed to the
audience and the panelists alike, with the audience response showing
up on screen via the IRIS interactive push-button polling system.
The panelists were asked individually how they voted and were
generally asked to explain their vote.
Areas touched on ranged from the World Com/MCI deal to Microsoft
versus the Java lobby, to Gigabit Ethernet and asynchronous transfer
mode (ATM), and videoconferencing and local area network (LAN)
telephony.
Chambers said that the WorldCom/MCI deal has the potential to
accomplish deregulation and, if the venture is successful, will
change the industry dramatically.
Hancock said that it is a very large event with regard monetary
significance and highlights the move to bandwidth.
With regard Microsoft and Java, Hancock argued that there is
significance in the Java initiative because it is based on a strong
technology. She said the initiative behind Java is important for the
industry and that Java does have a role because it is geared towards
the Internet. One of the important factors influencing its success
though, is if all parties can agree on a single standard.
With regard Microsoft's current legal problems, House said that
adding pieces to the operating system is a natural act and not
something that will ultimately be seen as illegal.
With regard Gigabit Ethernet's acceptance in the marketplace, the
consensus seemed to be that it was too early to tell. One of its
major selling points though was the easy migration from Ethernet to
Gigabit Ethernet when compared to an alternative high-speed
technology such as ATM. Chambers said that Gigabit Ethernet is an
evolutionary technology, unlike ATM.
With regard videoconferencing being implemented on a wide scale on
the desktop, House said that, in order for that to happen, Intel and
Microsoft have to get behind videoconferencing together in a big
way, and the cost of bandwidth for a wide area will have to come
down.
He also said that the killer application is not videoconferencing
but voice/data and application sharing, for example, where someone
can put a spreadsheet on a screen and talk about it and have any of
the parties participating in the conference change what's on the
screen.
The emergence of Internet Protocol (IP) and Transmission Control
Protocol (TCP)/IP was also touched on. House said that IP will be
the standard in wide area network (WAN) data networks, and that
TCP/IP has got better over time -- it has been an evolutionary
process.
However, Chambers said that TCP/IP has a long way to go in terms of
opportunity.
With regard to international costs, Andersen said that the
international costs of networks is going to have to come down in the
next few years and ATM may be the way to do it. He also said that
competition and new technology in the international markets will
reduce costs.
No one appeared very impressed with LAN telephony -- telephone calls
over the LAN. Hancock described it as "a solution in search of a
problem." She added that engineers are capable of it, but there is
not the customer demand for it.
House said that he couldn't see it happening. Creating applause and
laughter he asked what happens when the LAN goes down and you can't
even call up your Trouble Desk.
Chambers said that the driver is not cost but might be an
application such as e-mail.
Asked by the chairman what she has been surprised about most in the
last 12 months, she replied "some of the changes at Apple." The
comment was greeted by laughter. More seriously, she highlighted the
way networking technology is coming to the forefront of many firms,
so CEOs are having to pay attention.
Networking and data processing is increasingly becoming a
competitive advantage, she said.
Reported by Newsbytes News Network: newsbytes.com .
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