There have been so many patent infringement suits lately! Admittedly, I’m not a patent expert by any means, but the patents in question seem to be very broad, open to interpretation and based on concepts rather than real inventions. So, I’ve been thinking that it shouldn’t be too difficult to imagine a few concepts of my own, patent them, and then sit on them until I spot some innovative company with deep pockets that I can sue.

Luckily, for the last several months, my technology and communications news feeds have been filled with hundreds of articles about Vonage patent law suits, Apple i-everything, and Microsoft Unified Communications. All of this input has given me the necessary inspiration to come up with my first “concept patent”. I believe history will show that Al Gore invented the Internet, Microsoft invented Unified Communications, Apple invented the greatest number of uses for the lowercase i, and that I invented Telepathy Over IP (ToIP). What follows are some attributes of my invention that I intend to patent next week.

ToIP
is almost identical to VoIP. With VoIP, we digitize and packetize voice then transmit it across IP networks. With ToIP, instead of digitizing sounds, we digitize thoughts. Like VoIP, ToIP will have a variety of CODECs namely:

* i-729, the equivalent of G.729. Actual thoughts are not transmitted, only facsimiles. Works well most of the time, but not ideally suited for transmitting that song in your head.

* i.711, the equivalent of G.711. Requires more bandwidth than i-729 and has some fidelity limitations. Thoughts are transmitted adequately but they lack emotion.

* i.722, the equivalent of G.722. Very high fidelity CODEC. Presents some security issues, since it will be difficult to differentiate your own thoughts from somebody else’s. It may also complicate the diagnosis of schizophrenia.

I intend to negotiate licensing deals with both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. ToIP will enable a plethora of new i-Devices that use ToIPOW (Telepathy Over IP Over Wireless). For example the i-Think, a small device that is permanently imbedded under (and irritates) your skin. You simply think of a song, and you begin to hear it in your head, all in beautiful 32-channel surround sound. Super-HD OLED displays
that fit in your pocket and fold out to 60″ screens will become obsolete since the physical media for viewing images will no longer be required with the advent of the i-See. Of course, we will have to deal with the record and motion picture industries who will want to impose DRM on thinking about music or movies.

Security will be even more critical than it is with VoIP. The implications of a lack of confidence in ToIP security will result in a whole population that can’t trust that little voice inside their head. However, the first priority will be to achieve mass adoption of ToIP based services. Once everyone has switched to ToIP, we can start to figure out the security aspects (as we do today with all new IP based services).

My ToIP invention will enable Unified Communications 3.0 (trendy title don’t you think?). The earlier UC 2.0, used Microsoft’s patent on brainwave-to-computer interfaces. However, that interface required surgical brain implants and messy wiring. With UC 3.0, Microsoft’s delusions about their current UC 1.0′s capabilities will be realized (check out their I-Know Video). With UC 3.0, verbal communications will seem downright primitive and will likely become illegal.

Now you might be thinking, “great concept”, but there is no interface that can capture and digitize human thoughts and therefore the concept is not plausible or patentable. Well, I thought of that too, and I believe that the following will convince you otherwise.

You see, an increasing number of physicists and scientists believe that there are parallel universes; in fact, there may be an infinite number of parallel universes. That being the case, there is another version of our planet where ToIP is ubiquitous, and someone on that planet realizes that we require a ToIP interface. What’s needed is an inter-dimensional network standard that will allow the build-instructions for the ToIP interface to be transferred to us. So, I propose that we create an i-DAN (Inter-Dimensional Area Network). The i-DAN (I will license this to
Apple also) will be based on a wireless standard since the idea of a wired inter- dimensional connection is just silly. Since there are an infinite number of parallel universes, i-DANs already exist and the information is currently being transmitted; we just need to tune in.

Now, I’m thinking that i-DAN signals are rather weak and that’s why we haven’t detected them yet. I propose that SETI stop wasting time scanning millions of frequencies across the entire sky. ETs from the other dimensions have been desperately trying to communicate but we keep changing the channel! Rather, they should focus all of their telescope arrays at a specific spot in the sky and tune all the receivers to say, 3.62Ghz. Why that frequency? No particular reason except that inter-dimensional communications will be easier if we stick to a single frequency.

So there you have it. I believe I have invented the technology that will enable Unified Communications 3.0 and a large number of revolutionary i-Devices. I don’t intend to build any of these devices. I will just sue anyone that develops a service using ToIP if they haven’t bought my licensing rights. Are you ready for the future?

Now, i-Think, I’ll take my pills and go to bed.

Rick McCharles
ICT Consultant, RIC Services , Toronto

 

Microsoft’s
Unified Communications product has apparently rendered person to person
verbal communications obsolete. Not bad when you consider how late they
were to arrive at the UC party!
Things may change however once they add security (developed by the Vista security team).

- Bob: Clicks “Call Jane”
- MS Security: “Are you sure you want to call Jane?”
- Bob: Clicks “Yes”
- MS Security: “Calling Jane”
- MS Security: “Are you really really sure you want to continue calling Jane?”
- Bob: Clicks “Yes Dam It”
- MS Security: “While were ringing Jane, would you like to make sure her identity certificate is valid?”
- Bob: Clicks “No thanks, I like living on the edge, continue ringing Jane”
-Jane: Clicks “Incoming Call from Bob, click yes to accept call”
- MS Security: “Bob is not on your trusted buddy list, accept call anyway? (not recommended)
-Jane: Clicks “Yes”
-MS Security: “Bob discontinued call attempt, and is walking over to your cubicle”

Rick McCharles
Telecom Consultant, RIC Services, Toronto

With
Microsoft’s recent announcement of OCS 2007, the world is beginning to
realize that the concepts behind Unified Communications are
revolutionary and that our lives, along with the way we do business are
about to change forever!

There are those alas, who don’t
understand why there’s so much fuss and hype about Unified
Communications. If you are one of those poor people who just don’t get
it, then look at this video and realize that this may be your fate if
you don’t get help now!

I
found the video quite amusing (Cisco does have some great marketing
folks). Hopefully soon, we will collectively tone down the UC hype and
realize that life will go on, even if we don’t all immediately
implement.

Rick McCharles
Telecom Consultant, Toronto
RIC Services

This is Part 1 of a 6 Part Series

It’s inevitable.

Not
to be too overly dramatic, but eventually, IP Telephony will affect
your organization’s communications infrastructure. Equipment
manufactures are no longer making investments in traditional PBX
technology. Over time, organizations using legacy technology may find
it increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain their current voice
infrastructure.

IP Telephony
enables the integration of business applications and processes with an
organization’s communication services. This, combined with the
operational cost savings from a converged infrastructure, improved
customer service and enhanced employee productivity can leave those who
have not made the transition at a competitive disadvantage.

If
you have not yet done an analysis of whether IP Telephony can benefit
your organization, begin now. In addition, to the aforementioned
reasons that you should conduct an evaluation of the technology
benefits, the analysis may reveal some compelling justifications to
begin the transition much sooner than you had anticipated.

The
first step, of course, is to determine if, and when, a migration is
justified. Therefore, you should create a business plan, present the
results and acquire the necessary approvals to move forward.

The following tips may assist you with this crucial phase:

• Create
  a factual and credible business case. While some vendors may offer ROI
  / TCO analysis at a reduced cost or perhaps even free, the results are
  often overly optimistic and lack credibility. Typically, they will
  include questionable cost savings and arbitrary values related to
  employee productivity and customer service improvements.
• A
  technology focused business case that lacks quantifiable business
  benefits will likely never get past the CEO or CFO’s desks. Clearly
  articulate the business drivers and how they complement your company’s
  strategic goals.
• Identify other technology
  initiatives or challenges in your organization that could benefit from
  an IP Telephony infrastructure. For example, a municipal government
  could potentially improve two-way radio communications by integrating
  disparate radio systems. You may be surprised to discover a compelling
  IP Telephony ROI based solely on how the implementation will benefit a
  seemingly unrelated initiative or business challenge.
• It
  is acceptable to estimate the financial benefits associated with
  improved customer service or enhanced employee productivity. However,
  unless you have a verifiable and trusted data source that you are
  prepared to defend, it is best to leave these values out of the
  financial analysis and cash flow.
• Limit your financial projections to five years; beyond that it’s mostly guesswork.
• Include
  the cost of maintaining your current services when estimating the
  payback period. For example, if you are a Centrex customer you will
  continue to pay monthly charges for these services until they have been
  transitioned to the new environment. You may also incur financial
  penalties for early contract termination. Vendor based estimates will
  sometimes neglect to include these costs in the financial projections.
• Ensure
  that you have captured all of the costs of your current environment
  including: maintenance, MACs (moves add & changes), personnel,
  external support and projected price increases. Also, estimate the cost
  of any hardware or software additions or changes to the existing
  infrastructure that will be required during the evaluation period.
• Build
  flexibility into your financial modeling tools. Include a section for
  cost assumptions that can be easily modified. Your modeling tool should
  also include the ability to add, remove or vary the percentage applied
  to a variety of cost factors.
• Network upgrade costs
  are often the most significant cost factors in an IP Telephony
  migration cost analysis. Adding redundancy, increasing bandwidth and
  hardware replacements to support in-line power and QOS can sometimes
  destroy the financial justification of an IP Telephony implementation.
  However, should the IP Telephony business case bare the burden for all
  of these costs? There are likely other initiatives and unrelated
  business processes that require, or would benefit from, an improved
  network infrastructure. The variables you initially incorporated into your modeling tool will allow you to include, exclude or modify the weight of this and other cost factors.

The
following is a partial list of the most common benefits attributed to
IP Telephony. You should evaluate the relevance and the potential
benefits to your organization and include them in your business plan:

• Reduced
  Long Distance: LD savings was once the primary motive for transporting
  voice over a data network (VoIP). Today, this factor is often
  negligible to the business plan. However, if your organization is
  geographically dispersed, it could be a significant cost component of
  your financial analysis.
• Improved customer service and employee productivity
• Converged
  voice and data infrastructure (reduced cost of building and maintaining
  separate infrastructures and associated personnel)
• Reduced cost for moves, add and changes (An employee can just login to a phone at new location)
• Enhanced business continuity and survivability (Geographic diversity, work from home, etc)
• Instant messaging and presence services (can improve productivity and customer service)
• Find-Me / Follow-Me (can improve productivity and customer service)
• Integrated messaging
• Reduced cost for conferencing (for organization’s that currently buy these services, the cost savings can be significant)
• Reduced administration
• Eliminate or reduce recurring costs (Centrex, PRI, etc)
• Reduced maintenance costs

Ensure that your financial modeling has captured all the following cost factors:

Capital Expenditures

• Data centre facilities upgrades or additions to accommodate hardware requirements or to provide redundancy
• Wiring infrastructure
• UPS for data centres and wiring closets
• Network hardware and software upgrades to support QoS, Admission Control, VLAN segmentation, enhanced security
• Installation
  of network circuit additions or upgrades to remove bandwidth
  bottlenecks, increase redundancy or support QoS and Admission Control.
• Training for end users, administrators and support staff
• Network management tool upgrades
• External consultants and services including engineering, configuration, project management and implementation
• Lab equipment (important requirement for large implementations)

The IP Telephony specific components:

• Servers for IP-PBX call signaling and feature servers
• Media servers
• PSTN Gateways
• Session Border Controllers
• IP Phones (Often the highest cost component of the business analysis)
• Software licensing (don’t forget licensing costs associated with the phones)
• Voicemail servers
• IM / Presence hardware & software
• Conferencing hardware & software
• Storage devices
• Remote survivability components
• Management tools (FCAPS)

Operational Costs

• Staff for operations and support
• Hardware maintenance
• Software maintenance
• Voice circuits (PRI, Analogue, etc)
• Data circuits
• Future software upgrades
• Ongoing training

Finally,
your business case should evaluate and report on the potential costs
and risks associated with not making the transition to IP Telephony
including:

• Competitiveness
• Ability to acquire and retain customers
• Employee productivity and job satisfaction
• Ability to survive disruptive events (weather, pandemics, etc)

Assuming
you have gained approval to move forward the remaining articles in this
series will provide tips to help ensure a successful migration.

Rick McCharles

This White Paper
by AT&T describes their VoIP migration and the associated lessons
learned in creating a winning business case for IP Telephony.