New Delhi: The convergence of corporate networks around an IP (internet protocol) platform has moved into high gear, according to a new survey and report from AT&T in co-operation with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The survey reveals that in almost 25 per cent of the companies surveyed, converged networks had already been deployed throughout or almost the entire organisation, while 60 per cent companies will have reached this level by 2008.

The global survey of 236 executives, which included 77 CEOs, explored the business ramifications of migrating networks to IP. A key finding is that, for 45 per cent of the executives surveyed, convergence is "important" or "critical" to achieving their strategic IT and business objectives, while only 4 per cent view it as "unimportant".

This marks an important shift in the emphasis of network convergence projects. Until recently, companies mainly saw converged platforms as a way to reduce network cost, but there is now much greater emphasis on how to use convergence to innovate and add value. For example, according to survey respondents, improved customer service and better collaboration (with customers, suppliers and partners, and among employees) outweigh lower telephony costs as the chief benefits of convergence.

As part of the research for the paper, the Economist Intelligence Unit conducted an online world-wide survey of 236 executives. The majority of respondents came from Asia Pacific (39 per cent), North America (31 per cent) and Europe (25 per cent). Other respondents came from Latin America the Middle East and Africa.

The top five industry sectors represented by the survey respondents were professional services, financial services, manufacturing, technology, energy, and healthcare and pharmaceuticals. In addition to the survey research, the EIU conducted a series of one-to-one in-depth interviews with senior executives and analysts in May and June 2005.

Thirty-nine per cent of the survey respondents were from the Asia Pacific region. On a global basis, improved security was ranked as the most important benefit of increased convergence (68 per cent), availability was second (62 per cent) and reliability third (46 per cent), whereas in Asia Pacific Availability was rated more important at 59 per cent with security second (58 per cent) and reliability third (39 per cent).

Interestingly, Asia Pacific slightly outperformed the global average when it came to current levels of convergence. World-wide, 25 per cent of respondents said that most or all of their corporate networks were converged compared to 26 per cent in Asia Pacific. The region also plans to invest more in network convergence in the next three years with 17 per cent of Asian based companies planning to increase network investment significantly (by more than 25 per cent) compared with the global average of 15 per cent.

"Lower capital and operational expenditures, while no doubt important, are secondary benefits of convergence," explains Hossein Eslambolchi, chief technology officer for AT&T. "Network convergence should be more concerned with how you create the next generation of services that will enable your customers or partners to increase value. This is all about services transformation and the network is the means for hitting that objective."

Convergence can deliver such value by, among other things, enabling firms to offer consistent, high-quality customer service across a wide range of communication channels. The research indicates that mobile text, video and web chat are set to become key channels for customer service over the next two years. Clearly, then, firms need network solutions that support a more complex and fluid communication environment, one which also supports collaboration with suppliers and partners.

The new network model creates exciting opportunities, but it also raises major operational challenges. For executives in the survey, implementation costs are a major consideration, and the issue of network security, already a headache for many companies, will become more complex as digital channels proliferate. There also are valid concerns over the shortage of people with the skills to manage these new networks - an issue that companies will need to address urgently if their high hopes for convergence are to come to fruition.