According to Julian Liebenberg, business executive at Business Connexion Communications, the convergence of ICT has required managed services providers to deliver combined offerings to market.
 
As the concept of convergence reaches maturity, companies are deploying solutions that encompass the 'triple play' of voice, data and video, he says. The primary promise of convergence has always been big cost savings through a single infrastructure that replaces previously separate networks.
 
Liebenberg states, although this is not a new concept, that the growing maturity of convergence as well as increased confidence in the reliability of convergence technology, have resulted in growing market demand for solution providers capable of delivering on the triple play. Demand is also being driven by replacement cycles and lower prices as economies of scale are realised, he adds.
 
The next generation network gives Business Connexion the ability to deploy bandwidth on a massive scale. In the near future it should be possible to deliver links in excess of 5Mbps at under a thousand rand, says Liebenberg. That may sound like a lot given that the fastest ADSL presently available is 1MBps and costs considerably more. However, this will become more likely as economies of scale are achieved.
 
He adds that the appetite for bandwidth will continue to increase, particularly as triple play applications continue to emerge.
 
Within this environment, the distinction between communication be it voice or data and applications and infrastructure as components of the corporate ICT needs are disappearing. The effective managed services provider has to deliver a unified solution set, which delivers economies of scale, convenience, reliability and availability across the ICT board, Liebenberg concludes.