On Sunsets and Telecom


Another perfect sunset seen from Redondo Beach, California. Since arriving here in June I've had the pleasure of watching many sunsets while jogging or walking along the Redondo "Strand," and have yet to tire of the endless beauty of each individual sunset. Each one is stunning, each one is different. While jogging along this evening, watching today's contribution to my portfolio of California memories, the thought came to me that sunsets are a lot like the day to day activities that challenge our lives.

A Redondo Beach sunset has four major components:

· The sun

· The ocean

· Clouds (or lack of clouds)

· Weather

With this combination we have the ability to put together a different sunset every evening, never repeating the same sunset. Each sunset is very different, leaving a completely different emotion to the sunset participant. In Redondo Beach, the entire waterfront area appears to pause for about 10 minutes each day to watch the sun go down, indulging in explosions of color and emotion that accompany the event. Our business lives show some interesting parallels to sunsets. In my industry, telecommunications, we also have very few basic ingredients supporting business:

Cable and air (wireless) Electricity Computers Software Packet handlers (routers, switches, modems, etc)

When you think about it, each new company developing and deploying a new telecom-related product is using a combination of the above items - they are just connected and marketed in unique models needed to fulfill requirements a market or industry. Thus, whether you are an Internet Service Provider, a web hosting company, a Voice over Internet provider, or a traditional telephone company, at some point in your business case your product will include all the above components.

Thus it is not magic to understand the technical portions of a telecom business. All telecom and Internet-related companies use the above components - they are just put together and marketed in a different manner.

This also leads me to believe technology is not the discriminating factor in the success or failure of any business. That factor is more a product of understanding your market, developing a product with a well-prepared business plan, And then aggressively executing against your business plan. Technology can never stand alone, and very few successful businesses have ever been built solely around an emerging technology. The technology must be designed to solve a business challenge, or enable a new business model.

We have all gone through the exercise of taking an object, and determining what the purpose of that object may be. A sheet of paper may be a tool for recording written or printed information, it may be the raw material for a paper airplane or origami, just as it might be a tool for cleaning your teeth when you cannot find a pick or floss. The sheet of paper works well for all.

Computers and networks are similar. You ask what a computer is, and the response may be a word processor, or a communications terminal, or an emergency disk backup platform, or even a platform for playing games and entertainment. One computer may accomplish all the above, although the owner of each individual computer may give you a very different answer on how a computer should be used.

An Internet connection may be used primarily by one company for research and business intelligence, while another company may consider the Internet as a delivery system for disaster recovery backup and storage. Again, suitable for both, but very different in application.

Just as a sunset changes every day based on the presentation or conditions of its contributing components, the business must also consider technology as a tool to execute a successful business plan. It is important to first understand the business requirements, and then reach into the technology "tool bag" for the components needed to deliver.

(About the Author - John Savageau is a managing director at CRG-West, responsible for managing operations and architecture for several of the largest telecommunications interconnect facilities in the US, including One Wilshire in Los Angeles)


MORE RESOURCES:

Toledo Blade

FAITH: Feb. 4
Wicked Local
Listen to his inspirational talk on life's journey and how we can change our destination with hope and faith. Check him out at vincenteramo.com. For more information, call the church office at 508-746-1642. Parents, grandparents and caregivers are ...
Faith BriefsMuncie Star Press

all 43 news articles »


Will Zuckerberg's IPO letter be as inspiring as Larry Page's?
ZDNet (blog)
Just 90 minutes to try and find and write the best news stories, looking at the same information that thousands of journalists were looking at. Our job was made tougher because our US competition had far more time, the Wall Street Journal and the New ...

and more »


New Straits Times

No soaring inspirational rhetoric but a pragmatic plan to address America's ...
New Straits Times
For it is so ordained, that "he shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient". The phrasing of that one sentence is ...

and more »


Inspiring Voices Contest Provides Authors a Rewarding Opportunity to Get Published
PR Web (press release)
For more information about self-publishing opportunities with Inspiring Voices, please visit: http://www.inspiringvoices.com. Inspiring Voices, a service of Guideposts, is dedicated to helping authors share their words of hope, faith and inspiration ...

and more »


San Francisco Conference observations: Enterprise transformation, enterprise ...
ZDNet (blog)
The power of ubiquitous technology to transform the enterprise was the theme of the inspirational plenary presentation given by Andy Mulholland, Global CTO and Corporate Vice President at Capgemini. Mobility, the cloud, and big data are the three ...

and more »


Around Your Town: 02/06/12
Sierra Vista Herald
For more information, contact Aaron at 378-9330 or info@cochisecountyvva.org. The American Red Cross will host a blood drive from 10 am to 3 pm Feb. 7 at the Center for Academic Success, 900 Carmelita Dr. To Schedule an appointment, call 439-3528.

and more »


Brave Amarni's life at risk from bugs
Halifax Evening Courier
The inspirational four-year-old has been diagnosed with a severe form of aplastic anaemia, a blood disease that affects only one or two people in every million. Amarni's bone marrow produces no white or red blood cells and no platelets, ...



An Inspirational Woman - Living With Aids
AllAfrica.com
We had a purpose to work around HIV because we realised there was no information around HIV in the community", Mam' Lorna says about why she started PUSH. Kliptown, where PUSH is located, is now renowned for its trader's market.



Rome Indoor Run/Walk raises $25343
Utica Observer Dispatch
*Inspirational Honoree, Russell Arant, a 35-year-old Rome resident and director of Surgical Services at Rome Memorial Hospital told his story during the opening ceremony about his open heart surgery in October 2010. During an annual physical, ...
Rome Free Academy hosts Indoor Run/Walk eventThe Rome Observer

all 3 news articles »


Colleges Adopt Motivational Book for Students
MarketWatch (press release)
For more information about the book, please go to http://www.LifeIsAChoiceBook.com . For information about Dr. Washington's motivational speaking services, please go to http://www.DrWashingtonSpeaks.com . This press release was issued through ...

and more »

Google News

lincolnhsbrooklyn.com ©