Network Computing - a New Business Paradigm - EU-Vietnam Business Network (EVBN)

Network
Computing – a New Business Paradigm

Executive
Summary

This Discussion Paper covers
network computing and network computers. These topics have been
the subject of extensive debate and discussion of late and, if
anything, the subject has become more confused.

The broad term “Network
Computing” represents a way of designing systems to take
advantage of the latest technology and maximize its positive
impact on business solutions and their ability to serve their
customers.

Network computers are the client
component of a networked Architecture. They provide, at minimum
cost and maximum simplicity, an essential set of functionality
necessary to support the appropriate client functions. Unlike
conventional PCs they do not need to be individually configured
and maintained according to their intended use.

The principal features of network
computing and network computers include flexibility, lower cost
of ownership, security, system management, and control. These
translate into business benefits giving cost savings, improved
productivity and service availability, increased functionality,
and enhanced business confidence, especially where secure
commerce is involved.

Operational factors in the short
term include software availability, server and network
capability, and the required skills to deliver and maintain the
network environment. Cultural factors concern the willingness to
transfer control over desktop applications back to the IT
department.

The importance of standardization
is underlined by the recognition that growth of network computing
depends on a common, minimal but mandatory set of functionality
for all network computers as well as interoperability.
Fragmentation in the marketplace can hinder or prevent the full
benefits of network computing being realized.

There is a need to establish user
requirements and to place everything into context through the use
of a model or framework. This is vital given the wide range of
network applications and devices that will be deployed and
convergence across the IT, telecommunications, and media
industries. The Open Group has developed such a framework, the IT
DialTone Architecture described below

Network computing helps link
organizations with their suppliers and customers across the
world, brings the benefits of computing to new audiences, and
extends the scope of electronic commerce. This vision can be
achieved by ensuring that both your organization and your vendors
are committed to and using the IT DialTone Architecture.

Contents

Network Computing
a New Business Paradigm *
Executive Summary *
Contents *
Introduction *
Network Computing –
Definitions *

The Growth in
Network Computing *

What is Network
Computing? *

The Open
Network Computer *

Functionality
is the Key *

The Nature and
Impact of Network Computing Today *

Features of
Network Computing *

The Total Cost
of Ownership *

Flexibility *

Optimization *

Availability
and Reliability *

Management
Control *

Improved System
Management *

Improved
Security *

Greater Access
to Shared Resources *

Cheaper
Equipment *

Environmental
Factors *

Competition and
Choice *

Network Computing
the Challenges *

User Interface *

Content
Description *

Network
Availability *

Software
Infrastructure *

Server
Capability *

Client
Capability *

Software
Applications *

Management *

Resistance to
Change *

Implications for
Standardization *

What do We
Need? *

How are these
Goals Achieved? *

What has been
Achieved to Date? *

Future Activity
*

The Relationship of
Network Computing to the IT DialTone *
The Wider Context
and the Future *

Supporting a
Wide Range of Client Devices *

Convergence of
IT, Telecommunications, and the Media *

The Content *

Introduction

This discussion paper is
concerned with network computing and especially the role of the
network computer.

It is written at a time of great
debate when advocates of network computing and of network
computers are promoting and detractors are challenging its
virtues, and potential users are trying to grasp what it all
means. For example, the needs of so-called knowledge workers for
PCs with standalone software applications and local storage
cannot be discarded but they are not the main focus of network
computing.

This paper has been prepared to
assist the debate and to establish the need for work on user
requirements, architecture, standardization, and market adoption.
You will find some questions at the end of each chapter. How far
can these, and other questions you might raise be answered
definitively at this time?

This paper is written with the
early majority rather than the early adopter in mind. This
audience will want to examine the merits of network computing and
will want to examine the benefits very closely before investing
in it. The issues raised should be resolved in the coming months
and new issues may well arise.

This paper does not provide
information about the current suppliers of network computers, nor
does it dwell on the merits of particular forms of network
computer.

Please refer to the Contents page
for the overall structure.

Network
Computing – Definitions

The
Growth in Network Computing

A number of leading industry
analysts predict the move to network computing. Bloor Research
says that 90 percent of end users are examining, piloting, or
implementing network computing within their organizations.
Gartner Group has predicted that 40 percent of businesses will
deploy network computers by 1999, rising to 60 percent by 2001.
An Ovum report shows that Network-centric computing will be the
dominant IT paradigm for the next century.

The future for network computing
looks assured, but are we certain that everyone is talking about
the same thing? An IDC End User Survey of Enterprise Computer
Customer Buying Patterns and Directions reveals that the market
is confused over what a network computer is and is not. IDC
believes that network computer vendors will need to develop
strong marketing messages that articulate and define network
computers.

A lead article in NC World argues
that research organizations are wasting effort trying to
calculate cost of ownership issues regarding network computers versus
the PC. They say it isn’t a matter of replacement. A
platform-neutral network-centric computing environment could be
easily based on entirely different principles and business models
than the ones we are using today. The author discusses mobile
network computers, TV set-top boxes, and other devices that could
be used, perhaps with the use of a SmartCard, to communicate with
a server. He observes that the essence of network computing is
that the data must be kept on the server and that its transport
and presentation must be via standard mechanisms such as HTML,
Java, and so on.

What is
Network Computing?

What do we mean when we talk
about network computing and network computers? Here is one
definition:

Network computing represents
the current wave in the progression of IS architectures from
mainframe to mini to PC-LAN and onward. Information systems
adhere to the network computing paradigm when functions are
appropriately distributed between clients and servers connected
by local and wide-area networks. Functionality is centralized to
the extent that performance constraints allow and sufficient
intelligence is provided locally to support a powerful user
interface. Furthermore, server capabilities are physically
distributed as necessary to improve performance and resilience.
This differs from the earlier
“mainframe/terminal”-based paradigms where everything
is centralized and the later “fat client” where almost
everything is held on client PC or Workstation.

Network computers are
intelligent devices connected to the network that work solely as
clients. They rely on software and data provided from one or more
servers on demand. There are no particular physical
characteristics. Although it is possible to configure and use a
PC in this way, new devices designed to optimize this environment
and described by their suppliers as Network Computers (NCs) are
now being introduced.

A simple example of network
computing is the use of a browser to view static information on
the World Wide Web. A more complex example is the case of an
order entry system where there is a central database that is
accessed through a Java applet running in a browser. Any changes
of data are validated by a Java program associated with the
browser before the amended data is transferred and used to update
the central database. The Java program may also manipulate the
data for display.

Traditional terminals connected
to a network cannot function as network computers. However, a PC
connected to a network can be made to work as a network computer.
Custom-made network computers are available from many suppliers.

The Open
Network Computer

Devices that are licensed to
describe themselves as Open Network Computers have been tested
and guaranteed by the supplier to conform to the standards agreed
by the industry. This standard assures buyers that an Open
Network Computer they buy from any supplier, irrespective of
underlying technologies, will always provide the same set of
functionality and behave in exactly the same way; for example, in
the look and feel of the application. The Open Network Computer
is not a specific piece of hardware or a computer system.

Being implementation independent,
the Open Network Computer describes a set of functionality –
application programming interfaces and protocols – that applies
to a product. Conformance is dictated by the content of the
Product Standard and the underlying technical standards. The Open
Group Product and Technical Standard for the network computer are
published on The Open Group web site (URL
http://www.opengroup.org/nc). They provide a minimum set of
functionality for a network computer.

Functionality
is the Key

Functionality is the principal
factor in the evolution and growth of network computing and the
network computer. This must be matched to existing and future
requirements, and an explanation based on functionality should be
used to articulate the merits of network computing to help the
user community.

The main functional
characteristics of an Open Network Computer are listed below:

The user interface is
web-browser software

Content delivery through a
content description language (HTML or XML)

Server-based execution
technology with a run-time environment evolved from
todays Java and CORBA technology=

Ability to run application
software for office automation, development tools, and
vertical applications

Management functions carried
out remotely from the server

Having established this new model
of computing, the market can begin to choose between one network
computing solution and another. Here, competition comes into
play. Issues of price, performance, quality, and the total cost
of ownership begin to mean something. Concerns about monopoly of
supply are resolved. In addition, suppliers can add features to
their products to extend the basic functionality.

Some
questions: What is network computing and what is a
network computer? How important is it for network
computers to have common functionality? What level of
functionality do we need? When do competitive forces come
into play? How important is it to remove any confusion in
the market?

The
Nature and Impact of Network Computing Today

Features
of Network Computing

The claimed features and
advantages of network computing and network computers can be
grouped according to the likely business benefit.

Feature
Business Advantage

Flexibility
Productivity and Competitiveness
with the ability to respond to change more quickly

Optimization the right
software and data at the right time
Productivity and Service
Availability

Availability and Reliability
reduced incidence and downtime due to system
failure
Productivity and Service
Availability

Management Control
Increased productivity

Improved System Management
Effective control of
infrastructure and lower costs

Improved Security
Higher confidence leading to new
types of business applications; e.g. web-based commerce

Greater Access to Shared Resources
Increased productivity and
organizational effectiveness

Cheaper Equipment
Cost Savings

Environmental Factors
Lower costs and greater ease in
achieving environmental targets

Competition
Flexibility, wider choice,
improved services and support

These points are discussed in
more detail below. In each case the key question is how can these
claims be realized and quantified.

The Total
Cost of Ownership

Network computing can bring down
the total cost of ownership, as shown in recent studies. The
Gartner Group distinguishes between the visible costs of owning a
PC (purchase price, support, and training) which are around 21
percent, and the invisible support cost (people, downtime,
administrative services, and technology refresh) which are around
79 percent. There are significant potential savings for
organizations that carry out software distribution, software
support, and system administration and management from the
server. Gartner Group shows that these savings, as compared with
the costs of local support, can be around $2,000 per workstation
per year.

The Meta Group says that the
total cost of ownership of network computers is $2,176 per
workstation per year compared with a PCs at $2,824 when
supported in a network environment. These costs are made up of
training, support, management, server, network, client, and
applications.

Both studies highlight the costs
involved and especially the high costs of system administration,
maintenance, and user support. To these should be added the human
costs in terms of staff training and staff time for backup,
software updates, and so on, which are reduced or eliminated when
employing a network computer, or configuring a PC to act in the
same manner, in a network computing environment. These cost
studies are indicative of potential savings; business managers
will want to look at their existing costs now and projections for
the future. Clearly the hardware purchase cost remains a small
factor in the equation.

Flexibility

Network computing allows you to
respond to changing needs: software applications are easily
updated, enhanced or new functionality added and deployed. This
may involve changing the functionality at any time, based on the
stage in an operation or task, invoked by change in another part
of the business, or prompted by the management. Managers can
respond to new requirements by setting up new software and data
environments as required and without major impact on the user or
the business. The speed of response may often be turned to
competitive advantage.

Optimization

Network computing can provide the
right software and data at the right time to ensure the user can
work in a fast and efficient manner. This may involve customized
user interfaces that are related to specific tasks with access to
specific shared data. Here lie the opportunities to provide
systems that are both easier to use and less error-prone,
reducing the need for staff training. The Open Network Computer
offers managers a way of controlling the functionality and
optimizing the system for the benefit of the operation.

Availability
and Reliability

Network computing minimizes the
risk of and aids speed of recovery in the event of failure. For
the individual user of a network computer there is less to go
wrong. In the event of a hardware failure the equipment can be
substituted without any set-up and there is no software or data
to recover. The use of replicated data located on different
servers provides resilience and suitable backups. Single point
failures in the network, network computer, or servers have
minimal impact on a correctly designed business application.

Management
Control

One of the fundamental issues in
the deployment of computers is the exercise of business
management control over application use. We readily acknowledge
the importance of access control/security, especially where
financial transactions are involved. Perhaps less obvious is the
need for managers to control the environment for the computer
user. This follows from a desire to ensure that the correct
procedures are followed, to limit functionality, to promote good
habits, to optimize workflow, to customize software for a
particular purpose, and so on. Network computing offers new ways
to do this.

Improved
System Management

The most significant savings
apply to maintenance of and the updating of software which is
downloaded from the server. User data is secured on the server,
thus obviating the need for local backup and restore. System
management and administration functions can be centralized. Users
do not have to know how to carry out administrative tasks, and
less time and effort is spent by users and support staff when
things go wrong. Of course, a limited amount of remote system
management can be carried out through a computer network to
existing PCs, but in the case of network computers the total load
is carried on the servers.

Improved
Security

A network computer communicating
with a server and having no user-accessible storage devices is
inherently more secure than a PC connected to the network.
Viruses can be introduced locally through the PC. Security can be
breached in other ways through access to the PC’s own operating
system, local applications, or independent modem connection. The
network computer, unlike the PC, has an operating system that is
not user configurable. It is designed to enforce much tighter
security than is possible in a Windows-based environment. In a
network computer the tools for the hacker are just not there.

Greater
Access to Shared Resources

Network computing is built on a
shared resource model. The value of this benefit is tied to the
size and nature of the organization and the extent to which users
currently share data. The opportunities for developing and
exploiting common data sources accessed through network computing
and network computers are there to be used.

Cheaper
Equipment

This claim is based on the
observation that network computers have no user accessible local
storage devices and hence a lower parts count. They also need, in
general, less processing power since they employ browser and
Java-based applications allowing the use of proven, less
expensive technology for most applications.

Environmental
Factors

Network computers have a smaller
footprint, consume less power and emit less noise as a result of
the lower parts count.

Competition
and Choice

The Open Network Computer
guarantees portability and interoperability and a common set of
features. With the confidence of this guarantee, the buyer can
focus on choosing a supplier that understands their business
requirements, and provides the best support and competitive
services.

Some
questions: What are the claims for network computing?
How do these translate into real business benefits? Can
we verify and quantify these?

Network
Computing the Challenges

One way to identify the factors
that may affect the take-up, growth, and development of network
computing is to look at the functional characteristics of network
computers. The following table identifies some of the factors.
The second column labeled Challenges identifies some of the
functional requirements.

Functional
Characteristics
Challenges

User Interface
Additional functionality

Content Description
HTML – move to XML

Software infrastructure
Versioning

Server capability
Extended facilities

Client capability
Balance of capability (not be
“over weight”)

Network availability
Internet and Intranet performance

Software Applications
Software availability

Management
Skills to implement

Some of these challenges are
significant and the Industry is addressing them. However, the
optimum solutions can only be determined with appropriate input
from the buy-side. To this end, The Open Group has established
within a forum dedicated to this task.

User
Interface

Web browsers probably have all
the functionality required for network computing today. The ideal
in the future is a combination of the best features from the
browser software that leads the market.

In terms of the user interface,
key advances in browser technology have included scripting and
remote execution, specifically support for ECMAscript and Java.
These are still evolving in significant ways to improve
usability. However, the functions available today are sufficient
for business applications.

Content
Description

HTML Version 3 provides the
current basis for content description. The move towards XML will
aid the evolution towards more structured information.

Network
Availability

Commercial network availability
will affect those with remote network computers and mobile
network computers who wish to interoperate over the network at an
acceptable speed. Reliability of the network is equally
important. Both are essential to effective network computing
which will only be viable if connection can be guaranteed and
software and data can be transferred at acceptable speed.
Fortunately, the telecommunications industry has made significant
strides in answering this need and the day of unlimited bandwidth
and highly reliable networks is within sight.

Software
Infrastructure

For an appropriate division of
responsibility it is necessary to have a range of matching
facilities in the client and server environments. Many of these
are the same services described in the IT DialTone Architecture.
The challenge is to provide sufficient power without requiring
overweight implementations.

Versioning issues may cause
problems in network computing. This is especially true in a fast
growing area with software being modified to keep pace with
demand. Careful tracking of differences between versions of
software will be needed to ensure that network users, especially
those from third parties, can continue to interact. Changes can
be distributed to all network computer users once the need for
and method of updating have been determined.

Server
Capability

This covers the range of tasks to
be performed by the server in support of the network computer.
These tasks now include building and maintaining information
about the user environment. If the applications are to be
customized for each user or group of users, the server will have
to respond to user requirements by delivering the right subsets
of software and data according to need. Although a configuration
issue, there may be implications for developers and systems
management. This implies a re-engineering of systems in parallel
with handling the need to support Java and browser-based
applications with the object of identifying and delivering the
right functionally related subsets.

Client
Capability

It is necessary to identify the
essentials that take the place of the operating system and basic
utilities in a PC. Many of these things are already defined but
there are still tradeoffs to be made. Ultimately this may be a
cost/ performance tradeoff requiring different implementations to
be available to different customer types.

Software
Applications

In the short term especially, one
of the most critical challenges will be the availability of
appropriate business software including Java-based applications.
There is a good deal of evidence that suppliers are working to
fill the gap. This is reported in a Zona Research Paper covering
the deployment of Java-based applications, and reflected in the
recent announcement by many organizations to develop Java
versions of their software. Organizations requiring custom-built
software will have to acquire the skills to integrate standard
object-based applications to meet their business needs.

Management

The ability to manage systems in
a client/server environment will be enhanced to include
management of all the applications and data on the server. The
focus will move away from (remote) assistance to users with
applications on their PCs who need help in upgrading their
software and recovering from mishaps.

Resistance
to Change

Some new factors can be
characterized as cultural rather than operational. Network
computing presents a host-centric approach where users rely on
software and data being downloaded from the server. The loss of
some aspects of computing, notably software maintenance and
backup, will be welcomed by users. The requirement to access a
software environment on the server, dictated by management, may
meet resistance from those who have experienced personal control
through having their own PC-based applications. For this reason
it is unlikely that network computers will have large impact for
“knowledge workers” with their need for flexible
support from office applications.

The PC has been a liberating
force for many employees who have benefited from generalized
software for word processing, spreadsheet, and small-scale
database applications. However, these applications are most often
used in a standalone environment. Organizations with PCs will
have to plan carefully for the transition to network computing
and consider a phased migration of applications.

Some
questions: Does the software exist to support network
computers? How do you persuade users to hand control back
to the IT function? Confidence – should you move to
network computing or wait? What is the likely impact of
these and other barriers or factors on the growth and
development of network computing?

Implications
for Standardization

What do
We Need?

We can find numerous examples
where the take-up and growth of new technology have been impacted
by the absence of a single standard. These include the
videocassette, the laser disc and precursors to the CD-ROM,
digital television, and adoption of 56kbs modem standards.
Network computing and the network computer are no exception.

Organizations want to be free to
purchase their hardware and software from different sources, but
be assured that these will work together now and in the future.
Businesses need to be sure that the hardware and software they
buy is fit for purpose. Where they connect to third parties they
want to communicate effectively, deliver the appropriate
information, and minimize security and other risks.

For the reasons explained in this
discussion paper, to achieve the full potential for network
computing the linking of all the trading entities (suppliers,
partners, intermediaries, and customers), all network computers
must have the same minimum level of functionality. Each element
must conform to the relevant standard and interoperate “out
of the box”.

To achieve success for network
computing we must have:

Guaranteed functionality

Ease of integration

Competitive and cooperative
suppliers

Avoidance of fragmentation

A critical mass

The last three items are of
particular importance and concern the marketing strategies of the
key suppliers in any industry. It is necessary to create a market
for network computing and software that supports it. If
organizations can obtain the benefits of network computing they
will promote its virtues to others. This will ensure that a
critical mass is achieved and the costs of hardware and software
come down and stimulate real growth in both vendors’ and buyers’
businesses.

At the outset the danger is one
of market fragmentation with the customers confused by the
different offerings. Suppliers need to cooperate to build
momentum for network computing.

How are
these Goals Achieved?

Our goals in this area can be
achieved through a number of steps:

Establish customer
requirements for network computing
Ensure that the requirements
are consistent and coherent
Agree Technical Standards
including identification of existing standards, adaption
and adoption according to need, and filling of gaps
Provide the means for
suppliers to demonstrate conformance
Obtain buy-side support

What has
been Achieved to Date?

The Open Group has formally
adopted the Network Computer Reference Profile developed by a
group of vendors. The resulting Technical Standard has been
published as the Network Computer Technical Standard. This
document can be accessed free-of-charge from The Open Group web
site (URL http://www.opengroup.org/pubs/catalog/c707.htm).

The Open Group has also
established the Open Network Computer brand program. Products
registered to use the name Open Network Computer and the
associated logo must conform to the contents of the Open Network
Computer: Foundation Product Standard. The Indicators of
Compliance and Test Suites are specified in the Product Standard,
the full text of which is available free-of-charge on the Open
Group web site (URL http://www.opengroup.org/nc). Vendors can
obtain guidance, access to the test suites, and can apply for
their products to be registered on-line. A register of products
will be published.

The Network Computer Working
Group where standards for network computing are developed and
agreed with industry, is currently working on Version 2 of the
Technical Standard. They are also working on network management
issues in close cooperation with industry focus groups. It is
anticipated that Version 2 of the Standard will be released in
mid-1998.

Fortunately the direction of
Version 2 illustrates that it will be 100 percent upwardly
compatible with the earlier version; there is no need to wait for
it before building network solutions.

The introduction of these
standards for the network computer can prevent unwelcome
fragmentation at a time when confidence is paramount to the
adoption of this new paradigm. Through adoption of a common
definition, we will see reduced market fragmentation and broader,
faster adoption of network computing. Buyers will benefit because
the Open Network Computer brand guarantees conformance to the
standards, enabling buyers to make better, safer investment
choices thereby realizing the benefits of network computing.

This brings us to the question of
user requirements and the architectural setting for them and for
the standards themselves. User requirements have, and continue to
directly influence the development of the standards. The Open
Group has Program Groups that are tasked to document and champion
user requirements.

When the majority of vendors
adopt the Open Network Computer brand and promote its merits,
purchasers will be able to distinguish Open Network Computers
from other devices in the market. This will diminish the risk of
fragmentation and ensure that users can build network computing
to its fullest potential.

Future
Activity

The Open Group expects to work on
a number of standards related to network computing including
those for mobile network computers and SmartCards. This activity
is linked to the IT DialTone Strategy that is explained in the
next chapter.

Some
questions: How can we ensure that network computing
reaches its full market potential? How can we avoid
fragmentation whilst giving freedom of choice? Can the
user have confidence in the functionality of network
computers and be encouraged to build networks that extend
access to and use of their computer systems?

The
Relationship of Network Computing to the IT DialTone

The Open Network Computer is a
vital element of The Open Group IT DialTone strategy, which aims
to establish a ubiquitous, trusted, reliable information
infrastructure to support the deployment of distributed business
applications.

Customers will not in general
procure the complete IT DialTone Infrastructure from a single
source. The implication of this, is that the IT DialTone
Infrastructure must be an open system, integrated from products
delivered by different suppliers which work together because they
adhere to common standards where they interact.

The IT DialTone
Architecture is a structure that portrays information about and
relationships among all of the elements of the IT DialTone
Infrastructure, including a full list of all of the standards
that define the necessary interfaces between products and
references to products which adhere to those standards.

There are two distinct
elements to the IT DialTone Infrastructure.

To achieve global
interoperability, the infrastructure is based on the
comparatively simple IT DialTone Core Infrastructure.
This core communications capability, the backbone upon which the
rest of the IT DialTone Infrastructure is built, is the single
item which differentiates the IT DialTone initiative from
anything that has gone before.

To achieve global
interoperability, the IT DialTone Core
Infrastructure must be ubiquitous. That means
that it must be the same everywhere and anything that
uses it must understand completely the structure of the
data and information being exchanged.

To achieve interoperability,
the IT DialTone Core Infrastructure does
not need to define the totality of IT, merely a core set
of capabilities that need to be done in a consistent
manner. The IT DialTone Core Infrastructure
needs to be able to deliver a piece of information to the
right destination, securely, reliably, and within a
predictable period of time.

To define interoperability,
the IT DialTone Core Infrastructure is
concerned with the structure of the information that is
flowing around a network, not with the way in which
applications cause that information to flow. That means
it is totally defined in terms of protocols and data
structures and is not concerned at all with application
programming interfaces.

The second element of the IT
DialTone initiative enables the deployment of business
applications.

Building on the ubiquitous
backbone established by the IT DialTone Core Infrastructure, IT
DialTone Application Environments define all of the
necessary distributed computing services necessary to support
business applications that want to communicate using the IT
DialTone Core Infrastucture.

The IT DialTone Architecture will
define a number of different IT DialTone Application
Environments, but will highlight how the different
pieces fit together and what interdependecies there are, and will
identify the areas where divergence cannot be tolerated even at
the Application Programming Interface level.

The first fully defined IT
DialTone Application Environment is the Network Computer
Profile, i.e., the Technical Standard referred to in the previous
chapter.

Initially intended as the basis
for the development of standard “thin client” network
computer devices, the final Network Computer Profile is much more
than that:

It does
define the minimum capabilities of a diskless network
computer

The same capabilities can,
however, be deployed on virtually any
personal computer or workstation

The Network Computer Profile
defines a standard IT DialTone client with:

Full support for the IT
DialTone Core Infrastructure

A core set of user interface
capabilities built in

A Java application
environment which can be used for the deployment of
additional application components in a completely
platform independent manner

Some
questions: How do we ensure that the Open Network
Computer as defined will integrate with other components
and serve the functional needs of the IT DialTone? How
can we be sure of the future role of the network
computer? How will it need to change in the light of
developments?

The
Wider Context and the Future

Supporting
a Wide Range of Client Devices

Business managers seek effective
communications with a computer network linking distributed
employees, suppliers, and customers. They need flexible solutions
– the means to be able to adapt rapidly to new circumstances with
computer solutions that are easier to manage and to change.
Network computing provides new opportunities for linking
resources and reducing costs that match the ways in which people
wish to do business. It brings with it a new business paradigm
for the twenty-first century.

A wide range of devices will be
linked to the network – anything from a PDA to a mainframe
computer. Some of these devices will always perform as either a
server or a client, while others will perform in both ways.
Client devices will include phones, palmtops, TVs, laptops,
desktops, workstations – as network computers. Other devices may
have special functions: voice recognition, finger print and other
biometric devices, SmartCards, badge and label readers, PDAs,
sensors and actuators, and so on.

The needs of users on the move
need to be taken into account, whether this be through mobile
network computers, provision of network computers which support
identification through a SmartCard, or other devices which enable
a user to be identified to the network and provided with the
appropriate work environment.

The factor that really opens up
the marketplace is that all these client devices share a minimum,
common set of functionality. There should be compatibility
“up the scale” so that, for example, two vendors’
products could interoperate and be easily integrated into the
network. Any network computer should meet the conformance
requirements for an Open Network Computer and this definition
will expand as other classes of devices are standardized and
added into the brand program.

Convergence
of IT, Telecommunications, and the Media

IT, telecommunications, and media
industries are converging, sharing the same or very similar
technologies. Digital television and set top boxes give rise to
devices that embody the functionality of the network computer.
Modern phones exhibit similar characteristics.

A full discussion of convergence
would be the subject of a different paper. It is sufficient at
this stage to mention the possibilities and to ensure that those
who are planning or implementing network computing take account
of the whole spectrum of possibilities.

The
Content

This discussion paper has focused
on technology rather than on content. Indeed the only reference
to content has been to content description languages such as HTML
and XML. Computers are the tools, a means to an end in handling
and manipulating data, which becomes knowledge when in the hands
of human beings. We should be prepared to examine basic issues of
information handling presentation, communication, and
structure of information and data – so as to develop network
computers that fit user needs.

Once again, we can do no more
than reflect on the rapid change in our society and the
opportunities for network computing, converged with other
telecommunications and other media, to be all-pervasive. In
laying the foundations for the true Information Age we must have
the foresight and imagination to set network computing off in the
right direction. This reinforces the need for more exhaustive
work to establish user requirements looking at present and future
needs. We need to look at vertical industry segments especially
those relating to the communication and information industry. The
IT DialTone is The Open Group’s blueprint for the future and can
be used as a basis for mapping user requirements. The current
standard for the Open Network Computer is a first step. We need
to ensure that it leads in the right direction, though equally we
need to ensure that the first step opens up the full potential
for network computing.

Some questions:
How will network computing develop? What other devices
will serve as clients? What will be the effect of
convergence between telecommunications, the media, and
IT?

The Open Network Computer, IT
DialTone and The Open Group are trademarks of The Open Group in
the U.S. and other countries.