September 2005

Next Generation Telecommunications: Demand Side Strategies

Roundtable Discussion sponsored by the College of Science

October 25, 2005

Telecommunications transport is a commodity service product. Consumers can choose from a range of technology platforms, providers, and price points. At the same time, industry-specific needs for handling communications have emerged due to legislative, regulatory and corporate decisions. How can service providers connect the various technological components to create robust and cost-effective private central office network options that respond to different demand side sectors?

Roundtable participants will represent both the supply and demand sides of telecommunications. They will discuss their strategies for meeting requirements, including: security, archival, retrieval, cost, and performance. Confirmed participants as of August 17 are Kathy Davis, president and CEO/Global Access Point; Jack Horner, CIO, Major Hospital; Don Knebel, partner/Barnes & Thornburg; and Jay Qualls, vice president of sales and marketing/nFrame. Gerry Dick of Inside Indiana Business will serve as moderator. Representatives from the non-profit, FIRE, and government sectors have also been invited to address questions like the following:

Does a need exist for industry-specific data/records management services?
Are records management requirements/best practices widely divergent for different industries?
- Legal mandates
- Customer expectations
- IP property considerations
What are the current costs?
How can industries be best served with respect to data/records management and transport services?
- Is there an end-to-end utility service model that includes document collection, digital imaging, storage, and retrieval?
- How can service providers promote benefits including storage/computing grid architecture for maximum server investment flexibility, assured offsite backup and recovery, custody of care in compliance with specific industry guidelines, and multilayer authentication mechanisms for access control?
Given divergent legal requirements for custody of data, should a data/records management utility be designed to meet the highest standard or should it have a tiered services design (e.g., medical grade infrastructure or manufacturing grade infrastructure)?
What will a sustainable business model for a telecommunications services provider look like for the next five years?

Please join us for this lively discussion at Purdue University on October 25, 2005, in Stewart Center, Room 214 from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. Please contact Mary Jo Maslin at 765.496-6376 or mjm@cerias.purdue.edu to register. Additional information will be posted to the CERIAS website.

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