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By Lisa Burroughes, 8 July 1999 00:15

NEWS In its first year, Silicon.com has interviewed some of the most prolific high-tech CEOs about their companies and the technologies that are shaping the industry. One technology that stands out as making an impact is the Internet. Robert Madge, CEO of Madge Networks, argued that of all technologies, the Net is having the most profound effect on businesses. He said: "Customers are talking about converged networks, but the integration of voice, video and data onto one single pipe is not what is critical to them. What is critical is having integration of the business processes and, particularly, to take advantage of the Internet and Internet protocol." This was good news for William Schrader, chairman and CEO of PSINet, who believes operating at a profit is not just a pipe-dream. "Our goal is the fill the pipe by buying ISPs (Internet service providers). We raised a billion dollars in cash to buy the fibre to bring the costs down and buy the companies to bring the value up. Our strategy is just right and our losses will continue until they aren't there any more," he argued. The Internet has also facilitated an increase in remote working, but John Chen, CEO of Sybase, pointed out that it is important to distinguish between that and mobile working. "Remote access is very different to mobile computing: that's only a small part of it. Extending the enterprise to really turn data into information is what mobile computing is about - not just getting the information, but making intelligence out of information." Meanwhile 3Com boss, Eric Benhamou, believed the next great invention after packet switching will only come if government gives industry its full backing. He said: "The industry is very comfortable doing applied research and development of short-term products and technology, but the fundamental breakthroughs - for example, the invention of packet switching in the sixties, have to take place under the auspices of broad range, federally sponsored R&D programmes."