Networking giant Cisco this week announced technology to address one of the perennial problems of information technology - how to get applications from different software vendors to communicate efficiently with each other.
Part of Cisco's intelligent information network strategy, the new technology, dubbed application oriented networking, enables functions normally carried out at the application layer, with software known as middleware, to be done at the lower network level.
Describing it as a "disruptive technology", Nick Earle, vice-president for marketing, planning and operations with Cisco in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said application oriented networking will "enable our customers to do something that was not possible before and will solve huge problems".
Despite the best efforts of software companies over the past 25 years, integrating information held in different applications in an organisation is a costly and time-consuming task.
Cisco estimates that it could consume as much as 50 per cent of IT budgets. Current network technologies simply deliver data to a specific address, but do not have any insight into what the data means. Cisco says that the new technology which will initially be integrated in its network routers,will inspect the packets of data and apply business logic to them.
Application oriented networking has been piloted with 10 unnamed customers in the segments that Cisco is initially targeting with the technology - financial services, retail, logistics-transportation and government.
It is currently limiting availability of the products, but will start wider deployments this autumn.
Application oriented networking marks a radical new approach to the problem of application integration and Mr Earle admits that it will be five to seven years before it becomes the industry norm.
Cisco also announced technology partnerships with heavyweights IBM and Sap, as well as middleware company Tibco, to support application oriented networking in a move clearly designed to give AON credibility in the marketplace.
