January/February 2001

BY MARC ROBINS

Case in point is the rapid emergence of the "hosted communications" marketplace, where a bewildering array of new startups, as well as old-line service providers -- are gearing up to offer other service providers, enterprise users, and consumers a bewildering array of outsourced communications solutions -- from messaging and customer contact to outright "ePBX" switching services. Things are downright topsy-turvy.

A CHANGE IN ENTERPRISE COMMUNICATIONS
When I started covering the communications industry in 1980, companies that wanted a phone system basically had two choices: A customer premise equipment (CPE)-based switch (either a "big iron" PBX or the "doctor's office style" key system -- you know, the kind with the lighted "keys" that you punched down to answer a call), or Centrex service from the phone company. Messaging solutions ranged from a 12-unit package of pink slip notepads, to repurposed Xerox paper jams. The janitor cleaned up the Web when it became unsightly. And don't ask about feature sets, the term wasn't coined yet. Bleeding-edge features that come to mind included dial tone, blinking lights, and a hold button. You really had just the basics, which is all you could expect from the technology of the day.

Then one of the first monumental technological innovations of the late 20th century occurred -- the PC. In short order, the new PC gestalt (i.e., open architecture, open standards, lower cost) spread to all manner of enterprise communications solutions, producing a frenzy of development that created nimble, new, feature-rich phone systems and whole new categories of equipment. Automated attendants, voice mail, fax processing, low-cost call accounting systems, unified messaging, and PC-PBXs all owe their existence to the PC platform. PC-based technology also was the "great leveler," as it provided small companies with a level of technological capability that in the past only the largest corporations could afford. Suddenly, CPE was all the rage, since the public telephone network simply couldn't support or provide the high-end features and enhanced services that were suddenly in great demand.

CHANGE MOVES TO THE NETWORK CLOUD
Fast forward to the present. The Internet is inextricably woven into the very fabric of our daily lives, as we depend on the ubiquitous public IP network to communicate and share information. Corporate data networks (our LANs and our WANs) host an array of corporate information and communications resources. Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) technology has dramatically improved the performance of the PSTN. Bridges are being built to connect IP networks and the PSTN. And low-cost, feature-rich, open standards-based, carrier-class enhanced services platforms and communications systems are populating the networks of the world in droves.

In my humble opinion, another great tectonic shift is occurring in the communications landscape, and this time, it's the "network" that is commanding center stage. The pendulum is swinging from a CPE-centric mindset, to one that is network centric. The days of cramming cabinets and boxes into our communications equipment closets, then connecting all this stuff to our enterprise networks to obtain the communications services and functionality we need, are truly numbered.

Consider the billions of dollars that have gone (and are still going) into new network infrastructure. Consider the gobs of bandwidth coming online, and the desperate need for services to fill these new pipes. Consider the need for service providers to start making returns on their massive investments.

These conditions all bode well for the communications ASP. In the pages of this magazine, we will examine the players, the products, and the services -- and explore the innovations, the business models, and the opportunities that exist in this dynamic new marketplace. Join us as we take what is sure to be a wild ride!

Marc Robins is Vice President of Publications, Associate Group Publisher, and Group Editorial Director for Technology Marketing Corporation. His Change Agent column will appear in each issue of Communications ASP magazine. Marc appreciates your feedback, and may be reached via e-mail at mrobins@tmcnet.com.

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