By silicon.com, 21 July 2003 13:28
NEWS 21.07.98:Cisco and Microsoft have agreed to work together to deliver multimedia voice and video over networks. As a continuation of the Networked Multimedia Connection programme, a 'solutions showcase' will show how companies can utilise multimedia to improve business plans. The two companies are expected to announce details on streaming media technologies to interoperate on corporate networks in the near future. 21.07.03Convergence in this sense was being talked about long before now, and long before five years back. Are we any nearer? The answer has to be a cautious 'yes'. Such deals - between technology providers - were common in the late 1990s. The players were very much taking the field and there was comfort in numbers. However, there are two other parts to the equation which are arguably only now slotting together. First, there are the service providers. Large telcos and others are just about getting their convergence acts together. But even if that's the case, there is still the $64bn question - do users need it? Vendors such as Cisco have famously invested heavily in expertise in video, whether organically or through acquisitions. However, there is still some debate as to how common video to the desktop, or networks that need to handle voice, traditional data and video together, will be. Five years on and the jury is still taking its time. The likes of Cisco and Microsoft can wait until the time is right. Others won't be able to.
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