Showing papers on "Services computing published in 1990"

Beyond products: services-based strategy.

Abstract: Services technologies are changing the way companies in every industry--manufacturers and service providers alike--compete. Vertical integration, physical facilities, even a seemingly superior product can no longer assure a competitive edge. Instead, sustainable advantage is more and more likely to come from developing superior capabilities in a few core service skills--and out-sourcing as much of the rest as possible. Within companies, technology is increasing the leverage of service activities: today, more value added comes from design innovations, product image, or other attributes that services create than from the production process. New technologies also let independent enterprises provide world-class services at lower costs than customers could achieve if they performed the activities themselves. These changes have far-reaching implications for how managers structure their organizations and define strategic focus. Companies like Apple, Honda, and Merck show that a less integrated but more focused organization is key to competitive success. They build their strategies around a few highly developed capabilities. And they outsource as many of the other activities in their value chain as possible. To help managers develop an activity-focused strategy, the authors offer a new way to approach competitive analyses, guidelines for determining which activities to outsource and which to retain, and an overview of the risks and rewards of strategic outsourcing. Throughout, they draw on the findings of their three-year study of the major impacts technology has had in the service sector.

CIM-OSA Part 3: CIM-OSA integrating infrastrucure-the operational basis for integrated manufacturing systems

Abstract: CIM-OSA defines an architectural framework (the CIM-OSA cube) which covers all constructs required to model particular enterprises. The data-processing resources of the enterprise are modelled in different levels of abstraction in the resource view of the CIM-OSA cube. The abstract mode] of the CIM-OSA integrated data-processing environment contains as its central part the CIM-OSA integrating infrastructure (IIS) which provides services to integrate all specific application processes of the enterprise into one co-operating system. The integrating infrastructure therefore consists of the following system-wide services: the informationistrating all information required by the various application processes; the business process services scheduling the provision of resources and dispatching the execution of enterprise activities; the front end services representing the various types of manufacturing resources to the business process services in a homogeneous fashion; and the communication services be...

Uniform access to Internet directory services

Abstract: As networks and internetworks of computers expand in size and scope, discovery and location of resources becomes a primary function of the networked computing environment. Static tables describing network resources have been replaced by dynamic directory services, such as X.500 and the Internet Domain Name System. These dynamic directory services provide more timely and accurate information about network resources than static tables.A wide variety of services address various components of the resource discovery and location problem. These services can be loosely classified as either low-level protocols or high-level services. Low-level protocols, such as RARP and ICMP, are simple delivery protocols and provide limited information; high-level services, such as the Internet Domain Name System and X.500, use complex delivery protocols to answer complex queries. Neither class of directory service is appropriate in all situations. Low-level services are too restrictive in the type of queries and information they support, while high-level services may be too expensive for some low-function networks.

Accuracy of information provision: the need for client-centred service

Abstract: A summary is provided of a number of unobtrusive tests which indicate that reference services in academic and public libraries supply correct answers to inquiries 55 per cent of the time only Library and information services (LIS) must improve their accuracy rate and need to adopt client-centred services in order to operate in a new information marketplace and to meet competition from other sources Information technology facilitates a redistribution of resources from technical services to front of house' operations, but it is suggested that staff who are moved from technical services are not always the most suitable for client-centred services There is a need for interpersonal and communication skills to be fostered by the schools of library and information studies and for focused in-house training

Information center services: an empirical study

Abstract: 126 information centers (ICs) were surveyed to determine which services they offer, which ones they do not offer, and which ones they offered previously but discontinued. Based on the survey responses, a definitive list of 35 individual IC services offered by information centers was obtained. Although only seven of the services are offered in les than one-half of the responding companies, some services are offered less frequently than expected. The service group of software support is offered most frequently and the miscellaneous support group is offered least frequently. It is observed that the diversity of these services and the frequency with which they are offered indicate that the IC continues to be a strategically important concept for supporting end-user computing in organizations. >

ICC/SUPERCOM '90 Gateway Signal Transfer Points: Design, Services and Benefits

Abstract: While CCS7 provides transparency to the existing feature set available to users, it opens up opportunities for a wide range of new features and services when deployed network wide as opposed to a single node deployment. This paper discusses the Gateway Signal Transfer Point (STP) and the key services it performs in the formation and operation of global information networks. These services include basic service support and networkwide connectivity, a capability that will become more necessary in North America as network-wide features and services become available. Having defined the requirements and operations for the Gateway STP, the DMS-STP is examined as one implementation. The paper concludes with a vision of future services and functions in the network.

Marketing perspectives for business broadband services in Europe

Abstract: In the context of the RACE (Research and Development in Advanced Communications Technologies in Europe) program, the results of market research on business broadband services, led by the Commission of the European Communities and ETCO and covering the EEC and EFTA countries, are presented. Three possible scenarios for the evolution of broadband telecommunications services are analyzed. For each scenario the forecasts, in terms of users in 1966, are presented for the following services: videoconference, videotelephony, high-speed data transmission, high-speed facsimile, TV and high-quality TV transportation, and high-quality sound transportation. From the results obtained ETCO drew the following conclusions: first, a potential professional demand for broadband telecommunications services exists under tariff conditions that enable network operators to achieve financial stability in the long term after a demand-stimulation phase. Second, potential demand for broadband telecommunications services exists because the services will enable companies under these tariff conditions to improve productivity. >

Developing networked services for libraries: the U.K. experience

Abstract: This paper is concerned with the development of networked information services for libraries and their users. The examples are almost wholly drawn from the UK, but I offer them in the hope that they will lead to a wider sharing of ideas on networked information services in Europe. The first half of this paper describes what has been developed and what the problems are; the second then considers how this development can best be sustained and encouraged. For those readers involved in funding and planning national and international networking policy, I hope you will accept my conclusion: that networks need to develop both demonstrations, well designed, of networked activities amongst their users, and also information services, widely shared, for them to use. Growth in network use is not best quantified by the numbers of bits that shuffle through the switches, but by the evidence of its widespread acceptance and importance to the research and scholarship in your institutions: if you accept that, then the providers of library and information services are your natural allies. Right at the outset, it should be noted that many libraries and information services in universities and research institutes across Europe do not yet have easy access to the research networks used by their colleagues. The converse is also true. There are many established library networks, some national, some regional, providing their member libraries with shared access to a central database for the supply of bibliographic records, and sometimes for interlibrary lending. These dedicated networks provide good support for library housekeeping operations, but at the same time they normally exclude the readers completely. A comprehensive network connects whole communities: lots of purposes, lots

Staffing to Support End-User Computing in the 1990s

Abstract: In this new age of end-user computing, instead of simply offering product-support services, information centers must now provide services that support responsible business-oriented computing. This column discusses what information centers must do to effectively staff themselves to meet the challenges of end-user computing in the 1990s.

Voice services concepts for intelligent networks

Abstract: The author describes the types of functionalities anticipated for intelligent networks (IN), including the call states involved, the extending and customizing of existing services, user vs. subscriber interface issues, and services interactions. It is suggested that initial services offered using IN will probably be very simple and have few interactions either within IN or with switch-based services. However, as skill in using the IN functionalities grows, so will the number, complexity, and interactions of IN services. Services interactions and user vs. subscriber issues will also be more elegantly handled as experience teaches how and when to use points in call and the assist functionality. Perhaps most encouraging of all is that this learning process is also applicable in defining the types of control structures needed for the other networks and services evolving into the future, such as data, broadband, multimedia, etc. >

Narrowing the gap: serials service improved by cooperation between technical and public services

Abstract: The traditional library organization for over forty years has been divided into technical services and public services. The age of automation, however, is bringing these two areas much closer together, and in some large academic libraries, the technical services librarian and the public services librarian are the same person. The work done in serials acquisitions and collection development is now available online in many libraries. Several libraries also have automated serials control and cataloging capabilities. With the advent of online access to serials, reference, interlibrary loan and library instruction services have simplified the work demands for the reference librarian. This conclusion suggests that cooperation between technical services and public services is the logical solution to provide the best possible service to the library patron.

TOOTSI: creating a toolkit for building user interfaces to business information services

Abstract: On the basis that the platform for user equipment for the 1990s is reasonably predictable, the creation of a new generation of user interface facilities can be started. The Esprit project TOOTSI (Telematic Object Oriented Tools for Services Interfaces) has as its objective the creation of a toolkit for building user interfaces to business information services using the GUI paradigm. The project brings together a unique combination of companies, active in the provision of actual services to the information community. This paper will describe the results of the initial two years of work on TOOTSI covering the decision making on the application platform and the design of the elements which will make up the toolkit. A prediction of the actual services to be developed is also included.

The use of computers in personal social services as a case of modelling

Abstract: In this paper a sector will be dealt with, which is lately characterized by an increase in decision‐making in a scientific rationalized way, i.e. the sector of personal social services. Decision‐making is in many cases closely related and attributable to the fact that the social services are increasingly availing themselves of personal computers. An innovation which is most often discussed in terms of technological rationalization and facilitation for the provision of personal social services. This may be the case as long as the computer is used as just another, be it a different, mode, to provide services, e.g. to do away with routine, administrative, and management tasks, such as record keeping (Bloom 1975), information retrieval systems (Rubin 1976), fiscal management (Mutschler 1983), etc.

A Perspective on Broadband Telecommunications Services

Abstract: Driven by the pace of technological innovation, broadband telecommunications services are being defined that will lead to a new generation of public telecommunications services over the next decade. The interrelated progress in standards forums on Broadband ISDN, IEEE 802.6, and SONET is leading to the definition of services that will be well-matched to serving an extremely diverse set of current and emerging communications applications. This paper will focus primarily on the Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) of Broadband ISDN to show the remarkable potential of this approach. Two perspectives will be developed to facilitate the understanding and positioning of the public telecommunications services that will result: 1. applications span, and 2. telecommunications attributes. Much research and development remains before broadband services can be deployed pervasively. However, the key attributes of the long term vision show promise for the introduction of interim services both to validate the vision and to begin the transition to making these services a reality.

Open network architecture and information services: Teletraffic challenges

Abstract: l(~lyan Bnsu received the Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from Calcutta University, India and Master of Computer Technology degree from Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi in 1978. Since 1980 he has been working with Bell Northern Research, initially at Ottawa, Canada and now at Richardson, Texas, USA. Currently he is manager of System Engineering and Design and responsible for performance and capacity planning group. Current work interest includes intelligent network planning and design and modelling of operation processes needed for intelligent network.

Distributed support: a case study

Abstract: As the need for specialized support personnel increases, the trend towards decentralized User Support Services on University campuses also increases. If managed poorly, waste may result as several individuals can work independently to solve the same problem. Duplication of effort can be even more pronounced when clients are uncertain of where to seek assistance and are separated from their support mechanism by physical limitations such as distance.The University of Saskatchewan consists of 14 colleges and has a student population of 18,500 with 2,600 faculty and staff. A large portion of the computer support is handled by a centralized department: Computing Services. Because of the number and diversity of disciplines at the University of Saskatchewan, many campus departments hire their own computer support personnel. This has solved some customer support problems but new ones have arisen.To some degree, the distribution of services resulted by default, rather than by a specific goal. Support services to some departments were handled by their local support personnel who presented immediate and accurate solutions problems. However, when local support personnel terminated their employment, support became the responsibility of Computing Services. Computing Services personnel then had to quickly learn the hardware and software configurations used in the various departments.Frequently there had been little communication between the local and central support personnel. Today, this problem has been alleviated by providing open and more clearly defined channels for communication between most University computer support personnel.This paper details some of the difficulties encountered during the decentralization of support services and how these problems were (or are in the process of being) resolved. Emphasis will be placed on the advantages and disadvantages of decentralized support to both the client and to the computing centre. Also discussed will be the reasons why even if an institution is not considering distribution of services, a plan for the eventual distribution is not only beneficial, but essential.

Long Distance Services: A Buyer's Guide

Abstract: The long distance marketplace the local and long distance networks alternatives to the local network MTS and WATS services 800 services private line services calling cards facsimile networks 900 services cellular services billing intrastate services international services carrier pricing strategies.

Value-added network services… & beyond

Abstract: The campus computer networks of today run the gamut from nonexistent through rich functionality and connectivity. Network value can be enhanced by the addition of network-based high-level services such as file storage, printing, fax, fuzzy email addresses and information directories. The next step is to organize access to all these services in a consistent menu-driven way, so that the network itself becomes invisible.

How to propose automation for human services

Abstract: Automation in the human services generally lags far behind the level of automation in business and industry. This is not due to lack of need. It is due to the difficulty of conceptualizing the issues surrounding automation of human service delivery, and to lack of money. The two are related: the money is surely available if the automation proposal can articulate the need to the resource controllers in a framework they can believe in. The traditional arguments for automation based on promise of lowered costs are not convincing for human service delivery because costs are not easily quantified. Promises of increase quality of service are hard to substantiate because the service “product” is so intangible. The traditional arguments should not be ignored, but the compelling arguments for automating in the human services are different: the promise of accurate program evaluation, and the promise of high quality information feedback from the field to program managers. Especially in the non-profit domain, the motivation for human service delivery is fundamentally altruistic. The basic concern of the administrators is, “Are we doing anybody any good?” This is the concern that must be addressed by the successful automation proposal. The proposal must be positioned in the context of the strategic service goals of the organization and made to look like the pivot upon which realization of the strategic plan turns. The proposal should promise the information needed by managers to evaluate their own performance and the program’s progress towards its service goals. 1. Why Automate Human Services? Automation of human service means providing information. It is not a matter of intense computation, not financial projections, not manufacturing control, not remote sensing. Any of the foregoing processes might play a role in human services automation but our primary goal in automation is to make information accessible to somebody: clients, service providers, administrators, consumers, etc. According to the recently published proceedings of the 1987 Human Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the ACM copyright notice and the title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Association for Computing Machinery. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and/or specific permission. a 1990 ACM 089791-403-1/90/0009l0008...$1.50 Service InformationTechnology Applications conference Cl], we are attempting to automate databases of available services, education and training,client tracking, decision-making, communications networks, communication systems for the handicapped, diagnostic expert systems, and many other systems. Over 150 papers were presented at the conference. Automation in the human services is a hot area. Everybody has an automation project in progress or in mind. Why do we do it? In the world of business and industry there is just one reason for automating: profit. An automation project must be justified in terms of lower costs and greater production or quality. A public-access database, for example, will reduce telephone customer support personnel costs. But in the world of not-for-profit human services, we might establish a public access database because the groups we are trying to serve need the information. The database will not lower costs (it probably will raise them), and it will not increase revenue. We do it because we think it will improve service. Yet when we go to write the automation proposal to the funding source, we have a very difficult time convincing anyone that the hoped-for improvement in service is worth the price in time and effort needed to provide the information. Unlike business and industry which can count widgets, we have little that is tangible to count. We gravitate toward the obvious: head counts, contact hours, intervention reports, whether these are relevant to our goals or not. And unlike business and industry which can lower raw materials costs and production waste, we aren’t sure how an automated information system would lower the cost of service: will we need fewer secretaries; will we save on office supplies? It’s not convincing. According to the funders themselves, proposals for automation projects in the human services are generally of poor quality [2]. Typical proposals are unable to state clearly the specific problem or need that the information system will address. Even when the need is stated, the proposals do not describe how the information system will address the need. Finally, proposals lack technical and budgetary astuteness, and are unable to state the costs and benefits clearly, let alone just@ the proposed system economically. We often read that the main reason automation in the human services lags behind automation in business and industry is lack of money. But it seems instead that maybe funders have trouble finding worthy project proposals.

Overview of New Satellite Services and Applications in the 90's and Relevant Experience in Italy

Abstract: The impressive advances in space technology achieved in the past 20 years have made satellites more powerful and flexible and earth stations cheaper and simpler to handle. These events together with the rapidly merging demand of advanced telecommunications and telematics services—which in many instances could not be provided by means of the existing terrestrial networks—have stimulated the widespread use of satellite links. Therefore, the present offerings of satellite systems are suitable to meet almost any requirements for advanced services and applications.This paper outlines advanced networks making use of small antennae located at the users premises or at urban and national gateways for data and video services and will outline example of space services which integrate telecommunications and environmental/meteorological data. The satellite is already becoming a powerful tool to stimulate competition among users and clear strategies have to be developed by operators to acquire potential markets. The pa...