"Before the Dawn of IP Telephony," introducing our involvements in the early developmental stages of VoIP is now in its final episode. Activities described in this series centers mainly on the 90's. It was the time when development members would make cut-outs of newspapers with articles containing words like "VoIP" or "IP telephony" for circulation around the department. When entering 2000, such words became more noticeable. Recently, these words have become so common that it's rare to not them in newspapers. On occasion, articles introducing IP telephony even make it on the front page.

During the summer of 1995, VoIP started with only a handful of personnel. At the present, VoIP is an important business field supported by a considerable number of employees even at OKI. VoIP that had not been given a second glance in the communications industry years ago now gives a sense of a different age with the acceptance of IP telephony. We now believe that our involvement were groundbreaking, with the arrival of the IP telephony age that will soon become full-scale.

In this last episode, I would like to describe my interpretation of "how innovation is realized," through my experience as one of the members involved in the creation of a new market. I believe there are three items that are considered to be important.

[1] Do not use common knowledge

Voice packet is a technology of the past. Such knowledge was becoming common in the industry as the result of repeated research on packet communication that has been continued from the latter half of 1900's. The potential and possibilities of packet communication is known by everyone who is familiar with communication. But immediately, there was a negative reaction whenever "voice packet" was mentioned. Perhaps there was a strong preconception that voice packet technology would never bear fruit by those who did their study and research.

Sometimes issues are solved by inhibiting factors disappearing along with the changes in time. And sometimes issues can be solved by changing the perspective. If someone tells you that something cannot be done, it is important to calmly ponder the reasons why it cannot be done and think outside the box.