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Information technology, the trillion-dollar opportunity
326
Book Reviews
a quiet acceptance of ASCII by IBM in the next few years. Pertinent to the current reliance on ISO OSI by Europe's vendors, IBM's ASCII posture, "endorsing ASCII by vote but refusing to use the standard in its mainstream commercial products" was, the author notes, backed by a major public relations effort. Members of COS may find familiar this June, 1970 "Corporate Standards Strategy issued by IBM:" "Continue efforts toward recognition by national industry and governments that: IBM makes beneficial contributions to national technologies, IBM is a good citizen, aware of national concerns and responsive to national programs. IBM strives for consistency among national and international standards to the extent that is desirable in light of national interests." Another IBM document released to the court revealed its 1968 "Basic Principles". Entirely consistent with the above strategy, it read: " I B M will actively participate in industry standards programs "Implementation of Industry standards is a business decision based upon market considerations. "Standards are 'minimums'-do not preclude added features nor product different from the standards. " I B M participation or vote does not commit the company to implementation. "Industry standards affect the P / L [Profit and Loss]-and therefore require management involvement. However, there is little entertainment in reading about the past-little can be done except to learn. And the present and future is where those lessons can be tested for relevance and used to fashion current and future strategies. The author presents his ideas in the final Part of the book. The possibilities are highly speculative and you should arrive at your own conclusions. This is the reason you should read the book. If standards contribute to global communications, then the author's views of IBM's plans for the future should be understood. They may not apply to IBM but
everyone will gain if we all monitor the future actions as they develop. Reviewed by John L. Berg
'Information Technology, the trillion-dollar opportunity' by Bernard Goldstein and Harvey L. Poppel, 1987; McGraw-Hill Book Company; 207 pages; hardback; Illustrations, index; ISBN 0-07-050511. Two principals in a information technology (IT) mergers, acquisitions, and venture capital firm provide their views on the future of the IT industry and more neologisms per page than found in most books. Don't get me wrong. The book is important, insightful, and quite readable. They identify five, interlocked trends that will lead us forward: content, interoperability, convergence, globalization, and disintermediation. Note the absence of "technological advances" and read the book to find out why. Content, or the actual information stored, transmitted, etc., won my immediate agreement as did interoperability and globalization. And note that each one of these self-explanatory terms rests, at least in part, on standardization. Convergence usually refers to computers merging with communications into "telematics" but the authors have a broader sense, the merging of products and services, content and facilities, home and business users, and many other formally discrete concepts. Disintermediation refers, as in economics, to the reduction of people between the " b u y e r " and "seller" of IT. A surprise to me but supportable by the fuzzy evidence in the USA that computers are flattening (reducing the managerial levels) in corporations, particularly where the manager was a collector and forwarder of data. Dealing with interoperability leads the writers to discuss standardization. Standards are described as controversial, frequently apposed or supported for competitive reasons, and within the reach of only a few very large users (MAP). The Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) fostered by the US Federal Government, another large user, receives an extended discussion and is used as example "to show how divergence from a standard for competitive reasons is inevitable. While I may not have thought of systems integration in just such a way, the authors list it as an
Book Reviews
alternative to standards when they don't exist. And they correctly noted the interest of governments in standardization. All and all, many novel ideas, generally unavailable facts, and pointed recommendations coming at the reader at machinegun frequency. Reviewed by John L. Berg
The Economics of Standardization
Managers of standards activities within companies and government agencies will find help in determining and substantiating the value of their efforts in a book published by the Standards Engineering Society. It is intended for those who must work within a budget, compete with other departments for funds, or justify their operation to top management. The Economics of Standardization provides the basic principles of economic analysis and recommendations on ways to determine benefits and costs of programs. Quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques that can be applied in various organizations and situations are given.
327
One approach presented in the books suggests examining a few projects in detail - rather than every one - and, by aggregation and careful extrapolation, assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of current and future standardization activities. Included is an example of the use of this method in which the value of company standards is successfully rationalized. A model for determining life cycle costs that will be avoided by use of a standard part instead of a non-standard part is another costbenefit technique provided in the SES publication. A reprint of National Aerospace Standard 1524 - Standardization Savings, Identification, and Calculation - is also included. An explanation of NAS 1524's development with examples of its application are intended to help readers tailor the standard's formulas to their own purposes. Edited by Robert B. Toth, the book includes contributions by Mr. Toth, Charles E. Gastineau, Donald L. Kear, and Alan J. Shearer. For more information on obtaining copies of The Economics of Standardization, contact the Standards Engineering Society, 6700 Penn Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55423, USA; teleph.: (517) 784-5059.
Book Reviews
a quiet acceptance of ASCII by IBM in the next few years. Pertinent to the current reliance on ISO OSI by Europe's vendors, IBM's ASCII posture, "endorsing ASCII by vote but refusing to use the standard in its mainstream commercial products" was, the author notes, backed by a major public relations effort. Members of COS may find familiar this June, 1970 "Corporate Standards Strategy issued by IBM:" "Continue efforts toward recognition by national industry and governments that: IBM makes beneficial contributions to national technologies, IBM is a good citizen, aware of national concerns and responsive to national programs. IBM strives for consistency among national and international standards to the extent that is desirable in light of national interests." Another IBM document released to the court revealed its 1968 "Basic Principles". Entirely consistent with the above strategy, it read: " I B M will actively participate in industry standards programs "Implementation of Industry standards is a business decision based upon market considerations. "Standards are 'minimums'-do not preclude added features nor product different from the standards. " I B M participation or vote does not commit the company to implementation. "Industry standards affect the P / L [Profit and Loss]-and therefore require management involvement. However, there is little entertainment in reading about the past-little can be done except to learn. And the present and future is where those lessons can be tested for relevance and used to fashion current and future strategies. The author presents his ideas in the final Part of the book. The possibilities are highly speculative and you should arrive at your own conclusions. This is the reason you should read the book. If standards contribute to global communications, then the author's views of IBM's plans for the future should be understood. They may not apply to IBM but
everyone will gain if we all monitor the future actions as they develop. Reviewed by John L. Berg
'Information Technology, the trillion-dollar opportunity' by Bernard Goldstein and Harvey L. Poppel, 1987; McGraw-Hill Book Company; 207 pages; hardback; Illustrations, index; ISBN 0-07-050511. Two principals in a information technology (IT) mergers, acquisitions, and venture capital firm provide their views on the future of the IT industry and more neologisms per page than found in most books. Don't get me wrong. The book is important, insightful, and quite readable. They identify five, interlocked trends that will lead us forward: content, interoperability, convergence, globalization, and disintermediation. Note the absence of "technological advances" and read the book to find out why. Content, or the actual information stored, transmitted, etc., won my immediate agreement as did interoperability and globalization. And note that each one of these self-explanatory terms rests, at least in part, on standardization. Convergence usually refers to computers merging with communications into "telematics" but the authors have a broader sense, the merging of products and services, content and facilities, home and business users, and many other formally discrete concepts. Disintermediation refers, as in economics, to the reduction of people between the " b u y e r " and "seller" of IT. A surprise to me but supportable by the fuzzy evidence in the USA that computers are flattening (reducing the managerial levels) in corporations, particularly where the manager was a collector and forwarder of data. Dealing with interoperability leads the writers to discuss standardization. Standards are described as controversial, frequently apposed or supported for competitive reasons, and within the reach of only a few very large users (MAP). The Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) fostered by the US Federal Government, another large user, receives an extended discussion and is used as example "to show how divergence from a standard for competitive reasons is inevitable. While I may not have thought of systems integration in just such a way, the authors list it as an
Book Reviews
alternative to standards when they don't exist. And they correctly noted the interest of governments in standardization. All and all, many novel ideas, generally unavailable facts, and pointed recommendations coming at the reader at machinegun frequency. Reviewed by John L. Berg
The Economics of Standardization
Managers of standards activities within companies and government agencies will find help in determining and substantiating the value of their efforts in a book published by the Standards Engineering Society. It is intended for those who must work within a budget, compete with other departments for funds, or justify their operation to top management. The Economics of Standardization provides the basic principles of economic analysis and recommendations on ways to determine benefits and costs of programs. Quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques that can be applied in various organizations and situations are given.
327
One approach presented in the books suggests examining a few projects in detail - rather than every one - and, by aggregation and careful extrapolation, assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of current and future standardization activities. Included is an example of the use of this method in which the value of company standards is successfully rationalized. A model for determining life cycle costs that will be avoided by use of a standard part instead of a non-standard part is another costbenefit technique provided in the SES publication. A reprint of National Aerospace Standard 1524 - Standardization Savings, Identification, and Calculation - is also included. An explanation of NAS 1524's development with examples of its application are intended to help readers tailor the standard's formulas to their own purposes. Edited by Robert B. Toth, the book includes contributions by Mr. Toth, Charles E. Gastineau, Donald L. Kear, and Alan J. Shearer. For more information on obtaining copies of The Economics of Standardization, contact the Standards Engineering Society, 6700 Penn Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55423, USA; teleph.: (517) 784-5059.