Tech Senate-the last mile

Chitra Padmanabhan / Mumbai

D-DAY is finally drawing closer. All efforts put towards ‘Technology Senate’ are finally about to bear fruit. Event managers are seen scurrying around with a final checklist in hand, shouting and screaming out orders. Jingling mobile phones seem to demand urgent enquiries, which are promptly answered. Speakers and other panelists are briefed on how they would be taken through the event. Tech Senate is finally coming alive, shaping up exactly as planned, minute-by-minute, day-by-day.

After introducing you to the tracks and the unique trends that we wish to present at Tech Senate, lets take a peek into companies who have been nominated for the prestigious Intelligent Enterprise Awards and Security Strategist Awards.

Rewarding intelligent enterprises

Innovation is the key to success in any sphere and we at The Indian Express wish to honour Indian companies that have devised innovative ways to drive growth using technology. ‘Seagate Intelligent Enterprise Award’ acknowledges those companies that have painstakingly carried out implementations and leveraged their IT systems. Companies that have been nominated for this award have successfully managed to align their IT systems with their business objectives. The companies have been meticulously evaluated by Ernst & Young, which has devised the award process, and the necessary data collection was done by Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB).

Security Strategist 2003

The Security Strategist 2003 recognises individuals who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the field of information security. Awarded to chief security officers or executives in equivalent positions, the Security Strategist 2003 awards are for individuals who understand that security is more of a process than a product.

The awareness around the awards serves a dual purpose. It brings security and the need to have best practices in security initiatives to the forefront. The award also ensures that enterprises know how to go about it.

An independent jury panel decided the winners of Security Strategist 2003. IMRB was appointed as the business process adviser. This ensures complete transparency in the decision process. The jury panel arrived at the parameters to judge the awards. The business process adviser’s role ensured that the entire selection process was without bias.

The future enterprise

Imagine…Everyday we read or hear about new innovations in information technology. While we may be awestruck with state-of-the-art technology, one can’t help but wonder how it will be put to practical use in real life.

It’s the same with networking infrastructure. We hear so much about Wi-Fi, hotspots, access points, Gigabit Ethernet, unified messaging, radio links, etc. Some of these technologies may have already been implemented in our organisations. For some, these remain distant aspirations. We may not really require these, or constrained IT budgets may make these technologies prohibitive for now.

When integrated in just the right manner, these technologies can work in harmony to present a host of benefits. So how will enterprises leverage on technology in the future?

What will be…

We believe communication and databases will be the key applications running in the future enterprise. Internal corporate networks will also carry voice and video traffic. Communications traffic on this network will include not just e-mail or instant messaging but also digitised fax messages, voice-over-IP and even video.

In the future, more employees will work away from office, requiring wireless access to their corporate networks. This is where wireless access services and VPN will play an important role. Within the office itself, the mobility of employees will not be limited due to wired connections on their terminals (PDAs, laptops and PCs). Instead, employees will carry their terminals between rooms and floors, without the bother of having to reconfigure these for network access. These terminals will have wireless LAN capability (such as Wi-Fi or 802.11a).

The flexibility that wireless networking offers, can be extended to other devices on the network, such as printers. Like PCs and notebooks, printers too will have wireless capability.

PCs and network printers (mainly the laser variety) are traditional network nodes. But the future network will have other nodes like PDAs, VoIP phones and multi function devices (MFD).

Putting an MFD on the network will facilitate not just shared printing but also scanning, faxing and photo copying. And since this device will be shared, it will cut down on equipment costs.

See it, believe it…

What we have just said isn’t fiction or something that’s yet to happen. To prove this, Express Computer and our technology affiliates have built a working model of a futuristic network. Called ‘The Future Enterprise’ this exhibit will be the key attraction or centerpiece among the theme pavilions at Technology Senate.

The Future Enterprise gives delegates a first-hand experience of various technologies, and helps them understand how these can be applied in business applications.

Go witness it, and take a peek at the future.