- Email: [email protected]
Strategic role of DP professionals
Planningforof&e autom Much has been written automation in terms of
about
office
the ‘paperkss office’ and the ‘office of the future’. A few years ago it was common to read that it would not be long before officeswere staffed by a small group of highly skilled people who would never have to leave their ‘desk console’ and who would never need to touch a piece of paper in their daily work. Yet, despite the appeal, to some, of such scenarios, they do not reflect the true nature of office automation. Automating the office is not simply a matter of installing the Istest equipment. Technology is only part of the process. Far more important, in managerial terms, is the way the technology is introduced and how it is impiemented, Frxmibartopicas which are nonetheiess important issues, are the interface between word and data processing and the distribution of data processing resources. Considerations such as these should be #armed for. This month% DauZ Prcx4%&. fo-
true on $mningfor off& automation. With the continuing growth of office equipment suppliers, organizations may find themselves ill-prepared to make the necessary choices regarding hardware and systems. This is where the data processing manager can lead the way, but to do this he/she must be fully aware of ah the various factors that must be incorporated into an office automation plan. Diana Duggan (page 6) discusses the need for a coordinated approach to office automation involving a bh?nd of technical specialists and a range of skills from tdecommunications to data processing, and she reports a survey of orgar&ations which showed the crucial importance of data processing expertise. Phmning for office automation, as Tom Stewart points out (gage IO) inw&es, first, de@rmining the bu&eas oh$ctiveaof ~~~on~d &XI identi@ing the resources a& procedures that sho&d be used. Stewart% e
gJw%a hq
,Fay to g3fQ*
2
cubemme,
in-
flexible systems that offer no job satisfaction to the workers concerned. Fkzexibility, according to Hope&n, not productivity is the key to successful office automation. Unless organizations are able to respoud to the new technology, and this presupposes careful design and impgementation of a system, disilhrsion and resiataneewill undoubtedIy sot in. Full advantage of the benefits of off&xauto&on can on& be reahaed wheri as nmch thought ia @en to tht?Euture:of workers&r the o&e and the struettlre a ~~~o~~~~~o,~e~~~ &e tzchnology,
EECbacksEuropeansurvey The European Commission is to support a survey of the European information industry which will be conducted by the European Information Provider’s Association (EURIPA) and Business International of Geneva. The survey, which is expected to be completed by March 1984, will involve about 2000 firms from the electronic information field. The firms will be active in such areas as databases or
Fhemsel~es with
involved in the electronic manipulation of data or text. A spokesman for the Commission commented, ‘We are still too dependent on overseas online services as the means by which we often receive information that has been originated in Europe. This survey will give us a yardstick by which we can measure how well Europe is doing.’ Company profiles and types of information service offered will be typical of some of the data that the survey aims to produce. In addition, the survey also hopes to identify key problems such as lack of investment, legal restrictions and marketing problems. Results will be interpreted with the aid of an expert advisory group drawn from industry.
RCApatent RCA has announced plans to increase its participation in the growing video display monitor market. The US VDU market alone is estimated to be !$400M per year and is expected to reach $1.6 billion by 1990. RCA is now developing VDUs for consumer and industrial use. A recent patent taken out by two RCA engineers will offer RCA the opportunity of manufacturing colour VDUs with improved resolution. The patent relates to the etching process of shadow masks for colour tubes. The smaller the holes etched into the shadow mask, the greater will be the resolution. RCA claim that the patent will allow them to manufacture more sophisticated colour display tubes for computers and word processors.
data processing
monitor Strategicrole of DP professionals The data processing operation is the critical path to an organization’s success or failure and data processing professionals play a strategic role in their companies, acting as developers, protectors and repositors of the corporate information resource. This is the view of Merritt M Lutz, group vice president of Informatics General Coporation. Mr Lutz made these comments while addressing the audience at the Nordata conference, held recently in Oslo, Norway. ‘While it is somewhat popular today to view data processing professionals as hostile to change and,more specifically, to user needs, in fact they have been and continue to be primary agents of timely corporate progress,’ said Lutz. Lutz stressed that DP managers have to meet user needs and still
hold to the corporation’s strategic principles. To do this most progressive DP organizations are setting up ‘personal information centres’ with 3270like terminals tied directly to production databases. ‘With a personal information centre no network involving intermediate mainframes or databases is necessary. The personal computer and its array of “information workers” software suffices,’ Lutz explained. Thus, DP managers can make information available to users without sacrificing relevancy, accuracy and security. Lutz believes that software is a vital component in this process and companies should look for qualities that reflect a well-engineered product, i.e. durability, maintainability and extensibility.
Fibreopticson the rails in the US Cable and Wireless is to provide a telecommunications service in the US by laying fibre optic cables alongside railways. This fibre optic cable system is similar to that being developed in the IJK by Mercury Communications Ltd, in whit h Cable and Wireless has a 40% stake. According to chairman Eric Sharp, ‘Agreement has been reached with one US railroad and discussions are well advanced with another for the formation of joint venture companies to promote the use of railroad rights of ways for telecommunications purposes primarily using buried fibre optic cable. ’ Cable and Wireless has identified the USA as an area which promises opportunities for growth. ‘Our turnover in the IJSA last year increased by
~0125 no 8
October 1983
more than one third which made the American market one of our most vigorous growth areas,’ Sharp said. Cable and Wireless hopes to build regionally structured cable networks in the USA, where increasing deregulation is opening up the market. The UK and the Far East are the two other areas highlighted by Cable and Wireless as offering new markets. Cable and Wireless has already formed a joint venture with a Chinese company and has acquired nearly 30% of the Hong Kong telephone company. Mr Sharp stressed the importance of long-term investment which will continue to maintain the company’s improved performance. During the year ending March 31, turnover increased 15% to &403M and gross profits grew 69% to &157M.
supercomputer company, ETA Systerns, with a 40% backing. ETA, which is bopiag to b&d the werId% fastest computer by 1986, wil! take 100 staff from CDc’s supercomputer division. According to William Norris, CDC cm, the new company will design, manufacture and market its own products, Although ETA will be developing a machine to extend CDC’s Qber range, it will be able to sell its
products to other comgXQl&!s. Lioyd Thorndyke, ex-senior technology vice president of CIXZ, and Neil I.,ineok, CIXs supercomputer consultant, will head ETA, It has been forecast that the processor ETA is designing will run at 10 million caicuiations per second, 10 times faster than the Cray 2. CM: is pursuing a policy of growth through investment in small companies and CDC’s investment of $lOOM in the ETA Systems comes after an increase in pre-tax revenues for
the second quarter of 1983. The company also expcts a total earnings gain for the whok year.
Unix system V extension Zilog and Western Electric are to develop a version of the Unix System V operating system for use with Zilog’s 2800 16 bit microprocessor family. When completed, the 28000 version of Unix System V will be available on a source code licence basis from Western Electric and on a binary code licence basis from Zilog.
3
Honeywelland E~cssonfog voice-data company
B~~o~gh~enters~na~~ialmarket As part of its continuing drive for a large share of the financial computing market, Burroughs Corporation has signed a manufacturing and development agreement with ‘Silicon glen’ company, Fortronic Ltd. Fortronic specializes in financial terminals, and has already sold systems through Burroughs in Europe and South Africa. The new agreement with the US Corporation means that Fortronic will manufacture a minimum of 15000 terminals for Burroughs over the next few years. Burroughs will also provide &lM for further R&D by the Scottish company. The agreement does not mean that Burroughs wil cease its own R&D work in the financial sector. Clive Bartram, a development manager with Burroughs, explained that Burroughs will continue to develop its own modu-
4
lar systems, while Fortronic will be providing integrated terminals. According to Bill Archibald, marketing director of Fortronic, the smaller company will not attempt to sell in competition with Burroughs during the course of the agreement, and he sees the development cooperation stretching far beyond the original three years.
Integration of telecommunications and computers takes another step forward with the announcement that Honeywell Inc and Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications company, have established a joint-owned enterprise to develop voice and data communications products. The new company will be called Honeywell/ Ericsson Development Co and will be equally owned by both partners. Under the terms of the agreement, Honeywell will also market the Ericsson PBX in North America. Edson Spencer, Honeywell’s chief executive officer, says, ‘Technology and productivity gained through the new relationship will enable Honeywell to build on its strengths in building controls, office automation and telecommunications.’ The integration of voice and data with environmental control, energy management and protection systems will be used to produce intergrated building communication and control systems. By the beginning of 1984, it is estimated that 150 technical employees will have been transferred from Honeywell and Ericsson to the new comPanYe
Ericsson is already represented in the USA by Ericsson Inc, a company jointly owned with Atlantic Richfield.
wi by Fortrmics.
data processing
monitor UKcollaborationforms the basis of Alvey Programme The Alvey Programme, under the chairmanship of Brian Oakley, has fulfilled early promises that it would work closely with industry by appointing five leading industrialists to the programme’s steering committee. The appointments, which are parttime, are for an initial period of two years and include Philip Hughes, chairman of Logica; Keith Warren, director of technology and strategic planning at Plessey; Thorn/EM1 chief executive, Cohn Southgate; BL managing director John Leighfield and Professor Eric Ash of University College London. Apart from the steering committee, a full-time directorate has also been appointed with members on secondment from industry. Among the members of the directorate are Lawrence Clarke from GEC, Derek Barber from Logica, and David Talbot from ICL.. Each member will head a different branch of the programme which has expanded from its original four categories of research - VLSI circuits, software engineering, expert sytems and the man-machine interface - to
Correction In the July/August Monitor, under the heading ‘IBM buys into telecomms’ it was stated that IBM had recently bought a stake in Mitel. The Editor has been informed that this is not the case. Mite1 did have ‘an agreement in principle’ with IBM, relating to the development of IBM line switching systems for interface with the Mite1 SX-2000. However, Mite1 broke off this agreement when IBM bought a stake in Rolm.
~0125 no 8
October 1983
include CAD for integrated circuits, infrastructure for a communication network and mailbox service and information dissemination. The Alvey Programme is a collaborative effort between UK industry, government and the academic sector. The UK government is contributing &ZOOM to the scheme which is being steered by the Department of Trade and Industry. Although the programme has been welcomed by most UK computer professionals and industrialists, some doubts have been raised. In particular, the National Computing Centre is concerned that the decision to limit funding to 50% will put off companies who may feel not willing, or able, to fund a project, the outcome of which is uncertain. David Fairbain, director of the NCC, says ‘It may be that such research can be encouraged by ensuring that it is done collaboratively with universities, where higher levels of funding are available.’ Industrial firms qualify for 50% funding while academic institutions can receive 100%. The NCC also urges the consideration of a parallel programme directed at marketing the technology, an area which it feels may become neglected. Wilf Robinson, a member of the National Economic Development Organization (NEDO) committee, also believes there is a need for a marketing programme. Apart from this, both steering committee members and civil servants have commented upon the willingness of UK firms to enter collaborative research and are hopeful that the Alvey Programme will prove to be a success.
Europeannetwork forGCS GCS, the UK com.munication device manufacturer, has established a European distribution network. The network will initially be responsible for GCS’s range of cluster controllers and protocol converters. Nick W Swallow, managing director of GCS Ltd, described the move as in accordance with GCS’s policy of expanding in overseas markets. ‘The appointment of independent subsidiary companies and distributors will minimize the direct involvement of the holding company while expanding sales,’ he said.
5
about
office
the ‘paperkss office’ and the ‘office of the future’. A few years ago it was common to read that it would not be long before officeswere staffed by a small group of highly skilled people who would never have to leave their ‘desk console’ and who would never need to touch a piece of paper in their daily work. Yet, despite the appeal, to some, of such scenarios, they do not reflect the true nature of office automation. Automating the office is not simply a matter of installing the Istest equipment. Technology is only part of the process. Far more important, in managerial terms, is the way the technology is introduced and how it is impiemented, Frxmibartopicas which are nonetheiess important issues, are the interface between word and data processing and the distribution of data processing resources. Considerations such as these should be #armed for. This month% DauZ Prcx4%&. fo-
true on $mningfor off& automation. With the continuing growth of office equipment suppliers, organizations may find themselves ill-prepared to make the necessary choices regarding hardware and systems. This is where the data processing manager can lead the way, but to do this he/she must be fully aware of ah the various factors that must be incorporated into an office automation plan. Diana Duggan (page 6) discusses the need for a coordinated approach to office automation involving a bh?nd of technical specialists and a range of skills from tdecommunications to data processing, and she reports a survey of orgar&ations which showed the crucial importance of data processing expertise. Phmning for office automation, as Tom Stewart points out (gage IO) inw&es, first, de@rmining the bu&eas oh$ctiveaof ~~~on~d &XI identi@ing the resources a& procedures that sho&d be used. Stewart% e
gJw%a hq
,Fay to g3fQ*
2
cubemme,
in-
flexible systems that offer no job satisfaction to the workers concerned. Fkzexibility, according to Hope&n, not productivity is the key to successful office automation. Unless organizations are able to respoud to the new technology, and this presupposes careful design and impgementation of a system, disilhrsion and resiataneewill undoubtedIy sot in. Full advantage of the benefits of off&xauto&on can on& be reahaed wheri as nmch thought ia @en to tht?Euture:of workers&r the o&e and the struettlre a ~~~o~~~~~o,~e~~~ &e tzchnology,
EECbacksEuropeansurvey The European Commission is to support a survey of the European information industry which will be conducted by the European Information Provider’s Association (EURIPA) and Business International of Geneva. The survey, which is expected to be completed by March 1984, will involve about 2000 firms from the electronic information field. The firms will be active in such areas as databases or
Fhemsel~es with
involved in the electronic manipulation of data or text. A spokesman for the Commission commented, ‘We are still too dependent on overseas online services as the means by which we often receive information that has been originated in Europe. This survey will give us a yardstick by which we can measure how well Europe is doing.’ Company profiles and types of information service offered will be typical of some of the data that the survey aims to produce. In addition, the survey also hopes to identify key problems such as lack of investment, legal restrictions and marketing problems. Results will be interpreted with the aid of an expert advisory group drawn from industry.
RCApatent RCA has announced plans to increase its participation in the growing video display monitor market. The US VDU market alone is estimated to be !$400M per year and is expected to reach $1.6 billion by 1990. RCA is now developing VDUs for consumer and industrial use. A recent patent taken out by two RCA engineers will offer RCA the opportunity of manufacturing colour VDUs with improved resolution. The patent relates to the etching process of shadow masks for colour tubes. The smaller the holes etched into the shadow mask, the greater will be the resolution. RCA claim that the patent will allow them to manufacture more sophisticated colour display tubes for computers and word processors.
data processing
monitor Strategicrole of DP professionals The data processing operation is the critical path to an organization’s success or failure and data processing professionals play a strategic role in their companies, acting as developers, protectors and repositors of the corporate information resource. This is the view of Merritt M Lutz, group vice president of Informatics General Coporation. Mr Lutz made these comments while addressing the audience at the Nordata conference, held recently in Oslo, Norway. ‘While it is somewhat popular today to view data processing professionals as hostile to change and,more specifically, to user needs, in fact they have been and continue to be primary agents of timely corporate progress,’ said Lutz. Lutz stressed that DP managers have to meet user needs and still
hold to the corporation’s strategic principles. To do this most progressive DP organizations are setting up ‘personal information centres’ with 3270like terminals tied directly to production databases. ‘With a personal information centre no network involving intermediate mainframes or databases is necessary. The personal computer and its array of “information workers” software suffices,’ Lutz explained. Thus, DP managers can make information available to users without sacrificing relevancy, accuracy and security. Lutz believes that software is a vital component in this process and companies should look for qualities that reflect a well-engineered product, i.e. durability, maintainability and extensibility.
Fibreopticson the rails in the US Cable and Wireless is to provide a telecommunications service in the US by laying fibre optic cables alongside railways. This fibre optic cable system is similar to that being developed in the IJK by Mercury Communications Ltd, in whit h Cable and Wireless has a 40% stake. According to chairman Eric Sharp, ‘Agreement has been reached with one US railroad and discussions are well advanced with another for the formation of joint venture companies to promote the use of railroad rights of ways for telecommunications purposes primarily using buried fibre optic cable. ’ Cable and Wireless has identified the USA as an area which promises opportunities for growth. ‘Our turnover in the IJSA last year increased by
~0125 no 8
October 1983
more than one third which made the American market one of our most vigorous growth areas,’ Sharp said. Cable and Wireless hopes to build regionally structured cable networks in the USA, where increasing deregulation is opening up the market. The UK and the Far East are the two other areas highlighted by Cable and Wireless as offering new markets. Cable and Wireless has already formed a joint venture with a Chinese company and has acquired nearly 30% of the Hong Kong telephone company. Mr Sharp stressed the importance of long-term investment which will continue to maintain the company’s improved performance. During the year ending March 31, turnover increased 15% to &403M and gross profits grew 69% to &157M.
supercomputer company, ETA Systerns, with a 40% backing. ETA, which is bopiag to b&d the werId% fastest computer by 1986, wil! take 100 staff from CDc’s supercomputer division. According to William Norris, CDC cm, the new company will design, manufacture and market its own products, Although ETA will be developing a machine to extend CDC’s Qber range, it will be able to sell its
products to other comgXQl&!s. Lioyd Thorndyke, ex-senior technology vice president of CIXZ, and Neil I.,ineok, CIXs supercomputer consultant, will head ETA, It has been forecast that the processor ETA is designing will run at 10 million caicuiations per second, 10 times faster than the Cray 2. CM: is pursuing a policy of growth through investment in small companies and CDC’s investment of $lOOM in the ETA Systems comes after an increase in pre-tax revenues for
the second quarter of 1983. The company also expcts a total earnings gain for the whok year.
Unix system V extension Zilog and Western Electric are to develop a version of the Unix System V operating system for use with Zilog’s 2800 16 bit microprocessor family. When completed, the 28000 version of Unix System V will be available on a source code licence basis from Western Electric and on a binary code licence basis from Zilog.
3
Honeywelland E~cssonfog voice-data company
B~~o~gh~enters~na~~ialmarket As part of its continuing drive for a large share of the financial computing market, Burroughs Corporation has signed a manufacturing and development agreement with ‘Silicon glen’ company, Fortronic Ltd. Fortronic specializes in financial terminals, and has already sold systems through Burroughs in Europe and South Africa. The new agreement with the US Corporation means that Fortronic will manufacture a minimum of 15000 terminals for Burroughs over the next few years. Burroughs will also provide &lM for further R&D by the Scottish company. The agreement does not mean that Burroughs wil cease its own R&D work in the financial sector. Clive Bartram, a development manager with Burroughs, explained that Burroughs will continue to develop its own modu-
4
lar systems, while Fortronic will be providing integrated terminals. According to Bill Archibald, marketing director of Fortronic, the smaller company will not attempt to sell in competition with Burroughs during the course of the agreement, and he sees the development cooperation stretching far beyond the original three years.
Integration of telecommunications and computers takes another step forward with the announcement that Honeywell Inc and Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications company, have established a joint-owned enterprise to develop voice and data communications products. The new company will be called Honeywell/ Ericsson Development Co and will be equally owned by both partners. Under the terms of the agreement, Honeywell will also market the Ericsson PBX in North America. Edson Spencer, Honeywell’s chief executive officer, says, ‘Technology and productivity gained through the new relationship will enable Honeywell to build on its strengths in building controls, office automation and telecommunications.’ The integration of voice and data with environmental control, energy management and protection systems will be used to produce intergrated building communication and control systems. By the beginning of 1984, it is estimated that 150 technical employees will have been transferred from Honeywell and Ericsson to the new comPanYe
Ericsson is already represented in the USA by Ericsson Inc, a company jointly owned with Atlantic Richfield.
wi by Fortrmics.
data processing
monitor UKcollaborationforms the basis of Alvey Programme The Alvey Programme, under the chairmanship of Brian Oakley, has fulfilled early promises that it would work closely with industry by appointing five leading industrialists to the programme’s steering committee. The appointments, which are parttime, are for an initial period of two years and include Philip Hughes, chairman of Logica; Keith Warren, director of technology and strategic planning at Plessey; Thorn/EM1 chief executive, Cohn Southgate; BL managing director John Leighfield and Professor Eric Ash of University College London. Apart from the steering committee, a full-time directorate has also been appointed with members on secondment from industry. Among the members of the directorate are Lawrence Clarke from GEC, Derek Barber from Logica, and David Talbot from ICL.. Each member will head a different branch of the programme which has expanded from its original four categories of research - VLSI circuits, software engineering, expert sytems and the man-machine interface - to
Correction In the July/August Monitor, under the heading ‘IBM buys into telecomms’ it was stated that IBM had recently bought a stake in Mitel. The Editor has been informed that this is not the case. Mite1 did have ‘an agreement in principle’ with IBM, relating to the development of IBM line switching systems for interface with the Mite1 SX-2000. However, Mite1 broke off this agreement when IBM bought a stake in Rolm.
~0125 no 8
October 1983
include CAD for integrated circuits, infrastructure for a communication network and mailbox service and information dissemination. The Alvey Programme is a collaborative effort between UK industry, government and the academic sector. The UK government is contributing &ZOOM to the scheme which is being steered by the Department of Trade and Industry. Although the programme has been welcomed by most UK computer professionals and industrialists, some doubts have been raised. In particular, the National Computing Centre is concerned that the decision to limit funding to 50% will put off companies who may feel not willing, or able, to fund a project, the outcome of which is uncertain. David Fairbain, director of the NCC, says ‘It may be that such research can be encouraged by ensuring that it is done collaboratively with universities, where higher levels of funding are available.’ Industrial firms qualify for 50% funding while academic institutions can receive 100%. The NCC also urges the consideration of a parallel programme directed at marketing the technology, an area which it feels may become neglected. Wilf Robinson, a member of the National Economic Development Organization (NEDO) committee, also believes there is a need for a marketing programme. Apart from this, both steering committee members and civil servants have commented upon the willingness of UK firms to enter collaborative research and are hopeful that the Alvey Programme will prove to be a success.
Europeannetwork forGCS GCS, the UK com.munication device manufacturer, has established a European distribution network. The network will initially be responsible for GCS’s range of cluster controllers and protocol converters. Nick W Swallow, managing director of GCS Ltd, described the move as in accordance with GCS’s policy of expanding in overseas markets. ‘The appointment of independent subsidiary companies and distributors will minimize the direct involvement of the holding company while expanding sales,’ he said.
5