Telecommunications and Networking in Business Research Paper

An example of this is how quickly Microsoft responded to their exclusion of the Internet as a viable strategy shift. Using a global telecommunications system and their global knowledge management network, they were able to quickly devise a product roadmap and recruit developments who knew the Web development platforms better than anyone did globally. This shift in strategy saved Microsoft from facing a daunting task of playing catch-up to Google, who ascended quickly to prominence in the late 1990s, just about the time Microsoft had begun to reach critical mass in their Web-based development plans. Telecommunications and the process-based modifications to the Microsoft business model is what made their response so accurate and fast. If a telecommunications network was not in place or not optimally used, the entire process would have lagged and the entire process of necessary innovation to survive would have fallen flat (Walters, Bhattacharjya, Chapman, 2011). The telecommunications framework and the networks that comprise that innovation framework at Microsoft is an example of how a very large, typically slow-moving corporation was able to turn up the velocity and urgency within the telecommunications network and transform their business. Admittedly this took a completely culture shift on the part of the company, yet everyone knew they were fighting for the future of the business. It is that level of intensity and urgency that can make a telecommunications network transform from being just a reporting mechanism to a catalyst of transformation and change.

The Role of Networks in Business Change

Social networks get much of the attention today in many of the discussions of how companies are connecting with customers and fans of their brand online (Li, Wu, 2010). Ironically these social networks are just the top of the funnel of sales activity that is managed by the distribution channels that support and strengthen dealers, distributors and resellers globally in many enterprises (Walters, Bhattacharjya, Chapman, 2011). The networks that matter the most are those that unify a selling organization of a business with its many channel partners, from the single-tier distributors to the multi-tier dealers and VARs (Sagbansua, Alabay, 2010). Networks form the foundation of trust across the indirect selling organization, making it possible for a manufacturer to more efficiently launch new products and move into entirely new markets.

Conclusion

Telecommunications frameworks can serve as the basis of organizational transform, far surpassing their reputation as merely being the unifying connections for making transactions occur quickly. The focus on how to make transformations happen at the business level is defined by how strong the functional connections are within a telecommunications structure.

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