THE CABLE PIPELINE

Broadband is one of the essential technologies that have attained a robust growth in the recent years. Nowadays different types of internet services are provided in the UK . Each type has its own uniqueness. The different types of ISP connection includes:

DSL Broadband

- Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) delivers broadband trough the phone line. It is similar to the Dial up connection.

- In this technology, exhaustive data are sent over copper cable with a rapid speed.

- This is suitable for light internet users and heavy users too can use it.

ADSL Broadband

- This is similar to DSL technology and stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL).

- This technology allows a greater download speed compared to the upload speed.

- This is mainly used for home and business purposes.

- Recently ADSL2 and ADSL 2+ are introduced that provides speed up to 24Mbps.

Symmetric Broadband (SDSL)

- This technology is similar to ADSL, except the fact that it has same upload and download speed.

- You need an extra telephone line to avail this facility.

- This connection is highly suited for business purpose which involves transfer of large information.

Local Loop Unbundling

- Normally ADSL or SDSL connections are provided by the BT( British Telecom) exchange system. In case of Local Loop Unbundling (LLU), it is provided without using BT exchange system.

- The main drawback of LLU is that, it is available only in certain parts of UK .

- The price of LLU is competitive and cheap.

Cable Broadband

- As its name itself suggest that the service is delivered trough a cable

- The main advantage of this type of ISP is its multiple packages that includes television, telephone etc.,

- This accounts to major ISP connection in the UK .

- This connection is provided only if you have cable access to your street.

Satellite Broadband

- This type of connectivity is offered trough satellite.

- You need a dish antenna for establishing a connection

- Basically there are two type of satellite services are available

- One way satellite connection involves download via satellite and upload via telephone

- Two-way satellite services include both download and upload information via satellite.

Two-way connection offers a greater bandwidth and speed.

The cost of setting up the satellite broadband is bit costly.

Satellite broadband has wide influence over weather conditions.

It generally has high latency period when compared to other commercial broadband. This type of connection is not suitable for online gaming and heavy users.

Wireless Broadband

- Wireless broadband can be delivered trough wireless means. It generally requires antenna to be installed in order to access the broadband.

- This is highly suited for sharing information between local areas.

- This is an ideal substitute for ADSL or cable internet services were these facilities are not available.

Find latest reviews on cheap broadband providers, compare packages on business broadband, mobile broadband and unlimited broadband at Broadband Suppliers Website.

Author: Fredrick Joy
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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China is not just the world’s most populous country, it is also the third largest country by area.

With over a billion people residing in the China, how do you think the country will fare economically and socially if it does not have modern telecommunications facilities?

Telecom: The Basics

Before delving deeper into the details of China’s telecom industry, let us first take a look at some of the industry basics.

Telecom is actually defined as the transmission of signals over a distance, and it is used mainly for communication purposes. As such, the role of telecom providers is to offer data services, phone services and entertainment services to consumers and businesses.

To have a deeper understanding of telecommunications in general, here are the types of services offered by telecom providers:

1. Mobile phone services

This is probably one of the most popular type of service subscribed to by the general consuming public, no matter which country it is that they come from. Through mobile phone services, you can make and receive calls using your mobile phone.

Depending on the model of the mobile phone that you have, you can also send text messages, e-mail messages, picture messages and a lot more.

2. Cable/satellite television services

For the most part, subscribers who have cable services typically get all their landline, Internet and cable TV services from one provider only.

On the other hand, satellite television services may also offer Internet services – but it is generally more expensive.

3. Internet Service Providers or ISP’s

Another type of service which is much needed and required today, ISP’s can offer either wireless, broadband or dial-up Internet services. With the proliferation of the Internet, it is not easier to make cheap calls and international calls using broadband connection or Voice over Internet Protocal or VoIP services.

What are Some of the Largest Telecom Providers in China?

Again China is the most populous country in the world – which pretty much increased the need for telecom providers to have sophisticated equipment, and world-class services.

But what does the telecom industry in China actually look like? Here, the government has monopoly of the telecom industry.

China Telecom and China Netcom are in the fixed-line business. In 2006, China Telecom ranked number 15 in the 50 largest telecom service providers in the world.

Meanwhile, the mobile telecom industry has the following companies participating:

- China Mobile
- China Unicom
- China Satcom
- China TieTong

The last two companies are generally smaller than China Mobile and China Unicom – but over the years, the government is slowly opening its doors to smaller and foreign telecom investors.

Despite the fact that the Chinese telecom industry is monopolized by the government, it is still a growing industry. In fact, China now lays claim to the fact that they have the world’s largest mobile network and fixed-line network. This takes into consideration both the number of subscribers and the capacity of the network.

With such a huge and continually growing market, there is no doubt that the telecom industry in China will be a strong player in the years to come.

About the Author:
You can make international calls for less using access numbers. Make cheap calls to China today.

Author: Caroline Telford
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Starting a business is one of the most intimidating things imaginable. You’ll have to expose yourself to considerable financial and personal risk, of course, and you’ll have to accept the fact that you may lose money. You’ll quickly learn that you can save money by using technology as intelligently as possible. No technology will, by itself, make your business succeed or fail. You can, however, make sure that you’re using it to its maximum possible level of effectiveness and not paying for technologies you do not need.

If you’re getting set up, you’ll need broadband Internet access. Today, there are far better options than just getting a standard connection from a telephone or a cable television company. You can get Internet connectivity that is actually completely wireless. This is not wireless Internet service in the sense with which you’re probably familiar. Wi-Fi is the term for the short-range connections that are provided in many offices. The type of wireless being discussed here is very long-range. It can cover an entire city, in fact. This service is delivered at broadband speeds and, if your freedom is part of the reason you’re going into business for yourself, it’s a good option to explore.

4G wireless broadband is the latest in ISP technology. Instead of just wirelessly redistributing a DSL or cable connection, this service actually offers a complete wireless solution in and of itself. The technology can cover a very broad area and it’s secure. It works with a modem that attaches to your computer and which provides you with access to the network. The speeds it offers are very fast and are on par with other broadband solutions. It also has the capability to cover your telecom needs at very affordable prices.

The 4G wireless technology available today can be integrated with voice over IP technology. VoIP technology provides a viable alternative to expensive office telephone systems. Of course, you can take your office phone with you wherever you go, as well. Instead of giving every client your cell phone number, which can result in innumerable hassles, you can simply give them your office number and, wherever you are, you can answer or return calls to and from that number. This is a money-saving solution for any new business, as telecom companies tend to be among the most expensive of all contractors, especially where new systems are concerned.

If your business is one that employs other workers, this technology is even more useful. You can offer the 4G connection to your employees and allow them to work from their homes or anywhere else. This allows you to avoid spending the considerable amounts of money required for an office. With more and more desirable employees demanding the option to telecommute, you can avail yourself of the best possible people to help your business grow. You can also make sure that you’re on the cutting edge, but not so deeply invested in it that you buy technology that you don’t use.

Clear Wimax Austin offers simple and affordable plans for home internet, mobile internet and VOIP. Clear Wimax Austin goes where you want to go.

Author: Laura Williamson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Africa is set to invest heavily in broadband, with the cumulative investment in ADSL and wireless broadband infrastructure expected to reach US$1.1 billion by 2011. This investment excludes customer equipment costs, says African ICT research house a BMI-TechKnowledge.

“These investment figures exclude investments that GSM and fixed line operators are expected to make in their core networks for the provision of voice and other data services, which will also be leveraged to provide broadband data services,” says Richard Hurst, a BMI-T analyst and co-author of the report.

Stephane Tchies, who co-authored the report with Hurst says in general, wireless technologies will dominate broadband connections in Africa, resulting in increased uptake of wireless broadband services.

This is because many African countries traditionally have low penetration of fixed line infrastructure and wireless networks are more cost effective and faster to roll out.

“We expect telecoms operators to prefer investing in wireless technologies because they are significantly cheaper,” she says.

Crystal-balling 2011

The report says the number of broadband connections, both fixed and wireless will reach over 7 million by 2011, with DSL subscribers accounting for close to 3.7 million.

By 2011, dial-up connections will dramatically drop from the current base of 76% to 17%, while DSL grows from 26% to 43% of the broadband market share, he says.

Fixed wireless broadband connections (using technologies such as iBurst) will also see a big leap, going from 2% to 18%. Cellular connections will grow from 2% to 21% she says.

Basic Internet access and the ability to deliver voice services will be the driving force of the uptake of broadband services in Africa, Tchies says.

Tchiees adds that North Africa is expected to benefit considerably from the increased uptake of broadband, while the sub-Saharan markets are expected to remain the same due to the current lack of international capacity, Tchies says.

“In North Africa we are seeing a healthy uptake of services with Morocco reporting 350,000 ADSL subscribers and Egypt 150,000 while the rest of the continent broadband is starting to gain traction,” she says.

South Africa also expects to see quantum leap in broadband adoption by 2010, when the country will host the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer.

Currently, there are five undersea cable projects in various stages of development in the African continent. The cable projects are to provide addo provide additional bandwidth to African countries, ensuring cheaper access to bandwidth.

For more telecommunications and Internet business news and trends in Africa and South Africa, go to ITWeb Online. Also read Damaria Senne’s blog, called Mobile Life, on how mobile phones have affected the way Africans live, work, play and communicate.

Author: Damaria Senne
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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With the arrival of Broadband, the access to internet has become easier and faster. This way, it has added colours to the lives of millions of those who are using features of the internet. Briefly speaking, Broadband is an excellent medium for internet connection and gives features like high speed access and efficient downloading.

Globalisation has been one of the major reasons behind the increase in the competition among Broadband ‘service-givers’. Broadband providers are, therefore, forced to provide competitive and cheap services. This is why broadband is quite an affordable option for the users nowadays. It works faster than the normal mediums for connection. Hence, one can quickly do downloading of emails, files and movies.

The word Broadband is very common nowadays, but an average person may not be aware of it. Actually, there are different methods of accessing the internet while using a Broadband connection. You can avail the services using a connection via existing telephone line or cable TV line. You can also have Broadband access through time-tested wireless technologies.

Nowadays, there are lots of all over the world and they give various affordable and marvellous Broadband services. Some of these providers are also giving special offers, this season. These offers have features like free calls, free Wi-Fi, modem etc. So this is a ‘win-win’ situation for both the users and the Broadband providers. Both these parities benefit from each other.

This year, some new schemes have already hit the market along with some special offers. Many Broadband providers like Reliance Broadband, British Telecom, 3 mobile Broadband, Orange,Talk talk, Toucan, Demon, Tesco, AOL, PlusNet, Direct save telcom, Namesco, Sky,Vodafone, BSNL,T-mobile phone etc. are offering Broadband services. These services are also backed by alluring offers. The user just needs to choose any one of the providers according to his usefulness and his requirements.

The Broadband services are available at very competitive prices. There are various leading players who are offering some of the best broadband deals. In order to be able to choose the best Broadband provider, guides are available online where you can find all the useful information about broadband. Information in terms of being both basic and advanced in nature, is present on these online guides.

One can compare the services of different companies who are dealing in the business of giving Broadband services. Hence, the user is able to have the opportunity of choosing some of the best Broadband providers.

So if you are looking to avail some of the unique Broadband services along with some very attractive offers this year then this is the right time for you when different companies are competing against each other to give some of the best services.

Before going for these services, one needs to understand their features and benefits. You should,therefore, cheap Broadband providers, features, and benefits of each and every brand. One also needs to understand the terms and conditions of the given deal.

Issac Brandon is an author of Xpert4u a Price comparison site that provides the relevant information on Broadband Providers UK.

Author: Issac Brandon
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Who would have thought two years ago that we would be able to get broadband for free? Those were the days when it cost on average £25 for a 512k (per second) connection. Broadband was reserved for “cyber geeks”. The rest of us were happy enough with our super slow dialup connection.

A broadband revolution has been sweeping the nation ever since. Broadband speeds have increased dramatically and prices have plummeted. Now 512k is considered slow. Anything under 2Mb (per second) won’t do. The “cyber geeks” are really moving into the fast lane, with download speeds of up to 24Mb available.

Prices for broadband fell significantly during 2005 and continue to do so. This led to more people signing up to broadband as it became more affordable. This, in turn, lead to more companies offering cut price broadband to attract those customers, which led to even more customers becoming interested. And the cycle continued. About 80,000 per week now sign up to a broadband package in the UK.

It has gone so far that you can now get broadband for free. If anyone mentioned free broadband 2 years ago, they would have been branded as being insane. Now it is a reality with TalkTalk offering free broadband to its Talk3 customers and Orange to its mobile customers. Cynics argue that it is not free, as you have to buy another service to get it. But even then, it is a damn good deal.

So where is the market going to go?

The rapidly changing world of telecommunications is going to force many of the smaller players out of the market. They simply will not be able to survive as margins are squeezed. Even the big players are finding the going tough. Telecom giant Cable and Wireless announced this week that it is broadband subsidiary, Bulldog, will no longer be offering broadband to residential customers.

Packages that include 2, 3 or even 4 products will become commonplace. Broadband providers have realised that they cannot make enough money from broadband alone to survive. So they are bundling broadband with other products, such as home phone, digital television and mobile. Market leaders such as TalkTalk, NTL and Telewest have been doing this for some time.

Broadband speeds will continue to rise as the technology moves forwards. This will lead to broadband becoming the centre of home communications. Your digital TV and home phone will be transmitted over a broadband connection.

The world of broadband has certainly come along way in the past 2 years, from a geeks product to mass market. The next 2 years will just as interesting, as broadband becomes the main communications platform in your home.

Tony George is the editor of http://www.StellarDeals.co.uk StellarDeals.co.uk is a free and impartial comparision service for broadband, home phone and digital television products. StellarDeals.co.uk will help you decide on the best package for you.

Author: Anthony George
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Cables are electric conductors covered with insulating material. They are used to connect different components of a system such as connecting a DVD player with a TV. Cables are being used in almost every area of human activity. Cables of different make and uses are now available in the market.

Different types of cables like data cable, network cables, high voltage electric cables, fiber optic cables etc. are being used today. The use of these cables has changed the way information is transferred from one source to another. Data transmission is now faster than it used to be and this speed has helped with the growth of the information technology and telecommunications industry.

Household items such as TVs, refrigerators, and air conditioners need an electric cable to function. Electronic items, like personal computers, digital camera recorders use data cables to transfer images, pictures and sounds. Internet service providers and telecom companies have also laid thousands of miles of high-density data transmission cables. These cables have enabled people to connect with each other through Internet and telecom services. Industries are also making use of this high-speed connectivity to expand their business and improve profitability. The cable manufacturing industry is also growing every year and new improved products are being launched regularly.

In the past, cables were primarily used for electricity distribution, but now they are being used in every sphere of human activity. Cables have indirectly helped people, companies and communities separated by distance to share information, ideas, news and views. Cables have certainly helped in making this world a global village.

The demand for cables is increasing every year. The market is also witnessing a parallel growth in wireless technology. TV and Internet broadband are now available through wireless technology. Though the technology is new and relatively expensive, it is certainly hassle free and expected to grow. The competition between cable and wireless has just started, but the market is huge and there is enough space for both to exist in near future.

Cables provides detailed information on Network Cables, Cables, Computer Cables, USB Cables and more. Cables is affiliated with Cable Modem Reviews [http://www.e-CableModems.com].

Author: Elizabeth Morgan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Year 2007 was the year of the telecom industry consolidation. By far the single largest merger shook the mobile operators’ status quo. Mikhail Fridman, Alfa Group’s owner, which holds a large stake in VimpelCom, blessed a deal to buy Golden Telecom, one of the largest Russian alternative fixed line providers. The deal, which is worth USD 4.3 billion, created the first Russian mega mobile-fixed player. VimpelCom, the number two Russian mobile operator, which provides mobile services to over 65 million subscribers in Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Georgia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, decided to diversify its services into providing mobile broadband. Golden Telecom, which is traded on the NASDAQ and holds a large chunk of the Russian Internet, voice and data market, seems to be satisfied. In the meantime, Golden Telecom has announced that it plans to invest over USD 1 billion to expand its fiber-optic network to cover the territory with population of 65 million.

Broadband Internet continued to be the key driver of the telecom market. Nation-wide ADSL has remained one of the fastest growing segments of the broadband market. However, despite the dominance of DSL, wireless services over Wi-Fi or WiMAX connections are rapidly emerging as a cost-effective alternative to DSL. By the end of 2007, broadband penetration in Russia was estimated at 3.2%.

Broadband technologies also boosted IPTV and HDTV exposure. Naturally Moscow and St. Petersburg lead in this market segment. Outlying regions have only 17% PC penetration, while Moscow is well over 70%. At the same time 50% of Moscow has BWA connection. Technology-wise great prospects have technologies supporting broadband, such as VDSL, HDSL, ADSL2+ and FTTx. For example, in Moscow where the most of last mile lies in copper, FTTC technology is widely used. The reason is that Moscow began launching BWA networks much later than Europe and was fortunate enough to choose more modern technology. As a result, the FTTx share in Moscow is over 50%, according to MForum. Similarly, in outlying regions other technology combinations are being used for BWA, including FTTB, FTTC and FTTH.

Triple Play market demonstrated healthy growth of about 25% to 30% in 2007. According to the National Cable Networks, total investments in the BWA and TriplePlay markets may reach $4 billion in 2008. As of April 2007, there were over 1 million Russian cable TV subscribers, and 7.4% of all cable TV subscribers used digital TV. Today Russian subscribers have at least 50 channels to choose from. Almost 10% (4.7 million households) of Russian households watched digital TV.

Various sources estimate the Russian long distance communication market size at about $3-3.5 billion in 2007. CNews Analytics believes that the volume of the Russian international and inter-city communication in 2007 reached about $2.2 billion. Inter-zonal communication alone brought $1.3 billion. The inter-city communication market segment holds 43.3% of the long distance market, while inter-zonal has 36.4% and international accounts for 20.3%, according to CNews Analytics.
After Rostelecom lost its monopoly on long distance communication, other operators jumped on the bandwagon. Today MTT, Golden Telecom, TransTeleCom, Orange Business Services, Arctel and Synterra also provide long distance communication services nation-wide. ComStar also is planning to capitalize on its dividends. Overall, according CNews Analytics, about 30 companies have licenses for long distance communication in Russia.

Rostelecom remains a major power on the long distance market, and according to its own research holds 57% of the market. Most of its revenues, about 80%, come from long distance. Nevertheless, by the end of 2007 the inter-city communication market had grown only 0.7%, while its share of the international market segment fell 6.8%.

Golden Telecom produced good results, stating that over 1 million clients used its long distance communication services in 2007. MTT doubled its revenues from $92 million to $208 million in 2007, and according to the company’s sources its share of the long distance communication market reached 6.8%.
The biggest news is that Russian mobile operators are keen on advancing this market. MTS planned to launch 6,000 km of network in 2008 and by 2011 is set to build another 12,000 to 15,000 km of network. VimpelCom built a network of over 7,000 in 2007. Naturally, newly acquired Golden Telecom adds a significant capacity to this market. On top of that VimpelCom is building more than 1,000 km. MegaFon’s backbone network has about 10,000 km.

Communication Ministry announced that during the first nine months of 2007 over 6,000 km of international communication cables were built, which is a 48.5% year-on-year growth. Led by liberalized long distance market and explosive growth of traffic transit market as well as new regulations requiring new operators to build their own networks nation-wide, operators invested heavily into the infrastructure upgrades.

One of the year’s major highlights in the carrier market segment was the launch of the new undersea fiber optical cable system between Russia and Japan by TransTeleCom and NTT Communications (NTT Com). This new 570 km DWDM network has a capacity of 640 Gbit/s and has great potential for expansion of Eurasian traffic. According to CNews, the NGN market in Russia will be about $1.5 billion in 2009.

Mobile operators surprised analysts with peaking ARPU numbers. In fact, the ARPU of VimpleCom and MTS showed very high growth compared to that of Western operators. The whole market surpassed USD 22 billion in 2007, while operators continue to invest into the network expansion. In 2012 mobile Internet services are predicted to bring some 10% of all revenues of mobile operators of the mobile service segment, or about $3.4 billion, according to MTS CEO Leonid Melamed.

Dr. Andrey Gidaspov has over 12 years of experience in business consulting in the IT and telecom (ICT) fields in Russia, CIS and Asia. Andrey has sealed deals for hundreds of American companies with Russian and CIS partners, ranging from start-up businesses to large multi-national corporations throughout Eurasia. His past clients include well-known technology leaders such as Motorola, Harris, Tekelec, Oracle, Corning, Tellabs, Qualcomm, Net2Phone, Nortel, Andrew and many others.

In September 2004 Andrey opened his own consulting business, Gidabyte [http://www.gidabyte.com] based in Hong Kong, China. The company provides a wide range of business consulting in the ICT sector for international companies in Eurasia and Asia Pacific. GidaByte’s bi-monthly newsletter “GidaScope” has become an instant success [http://www.gidabyte.com/newsletters] among various businesses interested in doing business in Russia. In 2007 Andrey authored his first book – “Riding the Russian Technology Boom” – which is available on Amazon.

Author: Andrey Gidaspov
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Technology & HR-Leverage one for the other: “Technology and HR are enablers of business. Integration of the two would mean not only harmonious co-existence but also leveraging one for the other. Leveraging of technology for HR would mean digitizing the mundane HR activities and automating the back office and transactional activities related to recruitment, performance management, career planning, and succession planning, training and knowledge management. Leveraging HR for technology implies managing change associated with technology by way of communication, training, hiring, retraining, stakeholder analysis and conscious keeping. Thus they can play complementary roles.”

Technology and HR both have one thing common i.e., both these are enablers of business.

In recent times, technology has become synonymous with information technology, as hardly any other technological development of the past would have impacted all spectrum of business as information technology has impacted. Irrespective of the kind of business you are in i.e., services or goods, commodity or branded, trading or manufacturing, contemporary or traditional deployment of information technology in one form or the other is a foregone conclusion. To manage and deploy technology in an effective way, all business Organizations would need knowledge workers. Managing of these knowledge workers is the responsibility of HR function. Hence the integration of technology and HR is an absolute must.

Having understood technology and HR in the present context we must understand integration in this context. Integration would not only mean harmonious co-existing but would also mean one enhancing and complementing the other i.e., technology is used to enhance effectiveness of HR and HR functions helps in adopting and managing change which technology deployment brings in.

Leveraging technology for HR

HR management as a function is responsible for deliverables like business strategy execution, administrative efficiency, employee contribution and capacity for change. All these are accomplished through what HR people do i.e., staffing, development, compensation, benefits, communicate organization design, high performing teams and so on. In majority of these areas technology is being deployed.

e-Recruitment

Recruitment is one area where all the companies worth their name leverage IT. There are two different models of e-recruitment, which are in vogue. One is recruitment through company’s own sites and the other is hosting your requirement on the other sites e.g., monster .com, jobsdb.com, jobsahead.com, naukri.com, and jobstreet.com and so on so forth. The first models is more popular with the larger companies who have a brand pull for potential employees e.g., G.E., IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, HCL, ICICI, Reliance, Mindtree consulting etc. Other companies prefer to go to the job sites. Some are adopting both.

E-recruitment has gone a long way since its start. Now these sites have gone global. Sites like jobsahead.com and monster.com have established global network, which encompasses separate sites for jobs in Australia, Denmark, Belgium, and Canada etc. Job seekers are able to search job by region or country and employers target potential employees in specific countries. For example, 3 Com recently posted a company profile on the Ireland site that highlights the contributions of 3 com’s Irish design team in its global projects.

In the early days e-recruitment was plagued with flooding the employers with low-quality bio-data’s. Again technology has come as a savior. Now pre-employment testing like the one introduced by Capital One, a US based financial company, help in filtering the applicants. These tools test online e.g., applicants for call centers. ‘Profile International’ a Texas based provider of employment assessments, has developed tools that allow instant translation of assessment tests between languages. Further developments like video- conference specialized sites, online executives recruitments and combining online and offline methods are leading to more and more companies adopting e-recruitment at least as a secondary recruitment method. Arena Knights Bridge, a US based IT company conducts video based interview of its prospective employees and only short listed employees are met in person. Even Cisco was to launch the same.

Employee Self Service

Employee self-service is perhaps one utility of IT, which has relieved HR of most of mundane tasks and helped it to improve employee satisfaction. Employee self services is a plethora of small activities, which were earlier carried out by employee through administration wing of HR. These are travel bookings, travel rules information, travel bills, leave rules, leave administration, perk administration, etc. Earlier all these rules and information were in the custody of HR. Every user employee was expected to reach out to HR and get it done. Now with deployment of ESS in most of the companies, employee can request for travel related booking online, fill his/her T.E. bills, apply for leave, log time sheet and see his perks value disbursed and due etc. E.g., in Ballarpur Industries Ltd. leave administration is completely digitized in its corporate office. It is working towards digitizing travel related activities, perks and even compensation management and performance management administration. ‘Digitize or outsource all the mundane and routine focus only on core and value add’ – Vineet Chhabra V.P. -PDC BILT.

Communication

Communication which is most talked about management tool has always been a gray area in HR management. In large companies with vast geographical spread communicating with all employees had really posed formidable challenge to HR professionals. Technology has again come for rescue. Starting with telephones, faxes, e-mails and maturing into video conferencing, net cast, web cast etc. communication is one area of HR, which has been greatly benefited by technology. Mouse & click companies like Oracle, IBM has an intranet which caters to most of the information needs of its employees. Brick & Morter companies like BILT also have made a foray into deploying intranet for internal communication, which has corporate notice board, media coverage, and knowledge corners.

Knowledge Management

Another area of HR, which is leveraging technology, is employee development. Programmed learning (PL) i.e. learning at its own pace is one of the most effective ways of adult learning. Use of technology for this purpose can’t be over emphasized. Aptech Online University and ‘The Manage mentor’ are some of the Indian sites, which are in this business knowledge management, which is an integral part of any learning organization, which cannot become a reality without technology. Companies can harness the knowledge of its employees by cataloging and hosting it on the intranet. Talk to ‘Big-5′ or not ‘so big’ consulting companies you will find that main stay of their business is the knowledge repository. Technology has enabled them to retrieve it swiftly. In the competitive environment where speed is the name of game technology driven Knowledge Management constantly provides a strategic advantage.

If you look at HR module of ERP solutions like people soft, SAP, Oracle and Ramco they provide you with a comprehensive package which helps in man-power planning, recruitment, performance management, training and development, career planning, succession planning, separation and grievance handling. A transaction happening in all these areas are digitized and form a closed loop ensuring employee database is always updated. E.g. a joining letter of a new employee is system generated. It will be printed only when all mandatory fields of information are entered. Similarly a transfer order or a separation letter is issued from the system only if that transaction has been carried out in the system.

For career planning, success planning, skill and competencies matrix methods are used by most of these systems. They search an employee with the required skills first in the in-house database of employees. Once put in practice in letter & spirit, this system not only enhances business results by matching the right candidate for right job but also improves retention of employees.

Processing payroll, churning out time office reports, providing HR-MIS are some other routine activities of HR which have been off-loaded to technology.

Leveraging HR for Technology

All HR professionals, preaching or practicing, learning or experimenting, teaching or studying have experienced leveraging technology for HR. But most of us come across a situation where we need to leverage HR for technology. Let us understand what do we mean by this.

Whenever technology is deployed afresh or upgraded it involves a change. The change may be at the activity level e.g., applying for leave through the intranet or at the mental model level e.g., digitizing the process succession planning which have been HR professionals forte. The people have always registered adopting change. This is one area where HR professionals are to deliver i.e., become change agents and lead the process of technology and change adoption. The resistance to change is directly proportional to speed of change. Now speed of change has increased and hence resistance.

Just to take an example, most of ERP implementation in the world have not been able to deliver all the expectations. Some of these have failed to deliver at all. While analyzing the cause of failure it has been observed that 96% of failures are because of people related issues and only 4% are because of technology.

It is the people who make the difference; hence HR should exploit its expertise to facilitate the adoption of technology. I would like to put together some of the thoughts on what HR should do for this.

At the time of recruitment, stop hiring for skills rather hire for attitude and a learning mind. Skills of today are no longer valid tomorrow. Managing ever changing change is the only criteria for success.

Functional or technical skills can be acquired during the job. Hence recruitment in the technology era needs to undergo a paradigm shift i.e., from a skill/competency based it needs to be attitude and learning mind/ ability based interview. That would translate into hiring for skills for future. In IBM every employee has to fill in his/her individual development plan where the employee commits its learning one/two new skills every year thus remaining competitive every time.

If we look at the chemistry of resistance to change it is either a skill issue or a will issue. To address the will issue we need to work at a comprehensive solution starting from recruitment (as discussed earlier), reward, compensation and leading to organization culture which promotes change. A living example is 3M, a US based company, where innovation is way of life, where 10% of revenue must come from new products every year. For them change becomes way of life.

To address the will issue further organization need to prepare a communication strategy which creates a ‘pull’ for the technology. For example, in Ranbaxy, when they went for SAP implementation they anticipated resistance. To address this they started a house journal, which was aimed at educating the employees on the benefits, which will result from adoption of ERP, SAP. This created a need rather a potential need or a latent need was brought out. Adoption of ERP did not become much of a problem.

At times adoption of technologies is perceived as a threat by the employees e.g., automation leading to reduction in workers, office automation leading to retrenchment of clerks etc. HR needs to be associated with the technical adoption right from the beginning till the end. At the selection of technical stage if HR is associated, it can map the skills required and create a pull during implementation and adoption. Post adoption it can release the excess non-re-allocatable employees.

To understand this process more clearly we can take example of ERP implementation. ERP is taken as an example as this is one technology adoption which effects employees across the org. irrespective of function and position. Any other automation may have affected only a segment of organisation. ERP implementation in any organization goes through the following stages.

1. Selection of package

2. Business analysis

3. Solution design

4. Configuration and customization

5. Conference room piloting (CRP)

6. Go-live and production

At each stage HR has to play a role, which will help in mitigating resistance to change.

During selection process, the change agent can understand the business benefit ERP would bring. This would help him to draw a comprehensive communication plant aimed at creating a ‘pull’ for the change. The communication plan may use its various weapons from the armory. The obvious examples are Newsletters, Newsflash. In-house journal, addressing by the top management, web cast, open house sessions, meetings formal and informal.

During the business analysis phase implementation team is supposed to analyse the existing business processes. At times this leads to surfacing of some data which is not very desirable by the process owners, leading to resistance at this stage, HR has to be again proactive and carry out a detailed stake-holder analysis. Such an analysis should give a lead to potential areas of problem and potential champions of change.

Solution design involves defining ‘To-be processes’ i.e., the way business would be carried out in future. At this stage HR has to play the role of catalyst to turn the heat on. The idea is to ensure to make maximum out of an opportunity of package enabled business transformation. HR can play a role by arranging to educate and train the right people on best business practices, just before this phase.

During the configuration and customization HR has to keep on beating the drum, the customization of a standard package is a big no-no. Similarly, during the conference room plotting (CRP) it should help in identifying the right persons to be involved in CRP. A thorough testing at this stage would result in lesser pain at the time of going live. This is also time to focus on training of end users, the employees who are going to use the system once implemented. Training- retraining -training to ensure all the prospective users are comfortable with usage of software before the system goes live.

During the go-live stage HR has to work over time to keep the motivation levels high. This is the time when management starts loosing patience as one glitch after the other keeps appearing and virtually bringing the business to halt. At this stage, HR has to play ‘conscious keeper’ for the top management once into product relocating the surplus is a challenge for which it has to be prepared before it.

This examples makes it clear that involvement of HR during the entire life cycle of technology is valuable. ERP is not an isolated case. It is true for any other technology adoption only finer details may vary. Hence HR must play a proactive role rather than being just a silent spectator or mere executers of the wishes of business or chief technology officer in case of technological changes.

Having set the case in different perspective, it seems only logical to leverage technology for HR and vice-versa.

About the Author

Mr. Amarendra B. Dhiraj is a frequent speaker at internationally renowned global events, CEO/CTO/CIO Roundtables, Technology Conferences and Symposiums. He hosted and organized the Executive Technology Leadership Forum. He specializes in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change. His strategic and practical insights have guided leaders of large and small organizations worldwide.

Amarendra Bhushan has been named to lists of the European Management Guru and is named as Europe’s youngest management Guru and one of the Top most influential business thinkers in the world. http://www.theerce.com, http://www.indogreek.org

Author: Amarendra Bhushan Dhiraj
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, who would have ever thought that the way people communicate would reach the heights that it has today?

Far from a typical landline call, there is now video calling, teleconferencing, e-mail, fax, instant messaging, text messaging, mobile phone calls, Internet telephone calls – and all the other forms of communication which made the world a virtually smaller place.

This is because sending messages from one person to another – no matter how far apart you are located – has become almost instantaneous.

This is also the reason why the major telecom providers in each country play a big role in the development of any country in the world. Without good telecom providers, people residing in a particular country will have no means to use broadband to connect to the Internet.

Without mobile providers, they will not be able to accept and make calls using their mobile phones. The same thing holds true for cable, satellite, wireless and other telecom providers.

Telecom Defined

So what exactly are telecom providers? Generally, telecom providers apply to companies providing data services, phone services or entertainment to consumers and businesses.

Telecom providers include the following:

1. Wireless communications provider
2. Landline phone companies
3. Mobile phone companies
4. Cable television providers
5. Satellite television providers
6. Internet Service Providers or ISP’s
7. VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol companies

No matter which country it is that you are living in, it is important to have access to these telecommunication facilities. This would ensure that information is easily accessible to everybody.

Broadband service is particularly important, so that anybody can gain access to the Internet right in the comfort of their own homes.

Quick Facts about Canada

Before delving having a glimpse of the telecom industry in Canada, here are a few quick facts about the country:

- Next to Russia, Canada is the world’s second largest country.
- Almost 90% of the Canadian population lives within 200 kilometers of the border in the United States.
- According to the 2008 US Census Bureau, Canada as an estimated population of 33.2 million.

A Brief Overview of the Telecom Industry in Canada

First up, let us take a look at Canada’s broadband industry. In this country, broadband is defined as an Internet connection which has a speed exceeding 64 Kbps. Despite the fact that the country only had 5.2 million household with broadband connection in 2004 – the trend continues to grow year after year.

Almost every other type of telecom provider in the country continues to grow – which definitely bodes good news for the general consuming public.

Another good news is that Canadians are heavy Internet users. As such, they will be able to make cheap calls through Internet calling should there be a need for them to make international calls online.

Lastly, let us take a look at the wireless communications industry. Since its inception, wireless telecom providers in Canada have experienced a healthy growth in the number of subscribers that they have.

All in all, the telecom industry in Canada is quick on the uptake when it comes to recent technological innovations and development – which brings a host of advantages, both for the consumers and the providers.

About the Author:
You can make international calls for less using access numbers. Make cheap calls to Canada today.

Author: Caroline Telford
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

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