Before the Dawn of IP Telephony - Part 32CEO's "Workout" (end of 2002 ~ 2003)
These contents translated a serialization article carried by ITPro IP telephony ONLINE published by Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. Jump to the original (Japanese).
Shinji Usuba
General Manager
eSound Venture Unit
Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd
The decision for the commercialization of broadband voice was facing difficulty moving forward into a form of a product. Looking for an in-house sponsor also failed.
Near the end of November 2002, we were buried with our normal duties. And the sense of stagnation surrounding "broadband VoIP" was becoming stronger.
But an opportunity came out of the blue. There was news that a session with the CEO, so-called the "CEO's Workout" would be held in a few days at the IP Systems Planning Headquarters where Hiromi Aoyanagi was working. The CEO's Workout is a system created by OKI to provide employees in the field with an opportunity to exchange opinions face-to-face with the CEO. The engagement was established as an opportunity for employees in the field to freely speak their thoughts beyond the walls of the organization and without prior review. The CEO's Workout started in February 2001 by CEO Shinozuka from his desire to share recognition of issues on what we should do at the present to make the company better, which still continues to this day.
Hiromi and I were thinking the same thing. This is the one and only chance we have. And I watched Hiromi taking off to the CEO's Workout with the prototype in his arms.
Gap from existing operations
Hiromi's face as he returned from the CEO's Workout was brightly lit. Apparently, the CEO's reaction was overwhelming. We received a comment of approval for our commitment towards "sound," which boosted our confidence. In an overall view, we were heading in the right direction. With this opportunity, we made the decision to keep moving forward. We were also able to gain the understanding of other in-house employees and were given the approval for the development of the fundamental technology. Now, we were starting to get somewhere.
However, we were concerned with the detailed shape of the product and commercialization timing. Although we were certain that broadband voice would be used in the future since there is no "3.4kHz bandwidth" restriction of the conventional telephone network in a full IP network, we were starting where there were no broadband telephones in existence.
In an extreme instance, the first person who would buy the high-quality terminal will not be able to enjoy the advantages of the phone since all other terminals existing in the world will be conventional telephones. In order to commercialize the product under the concept of "superior voice quality," a motivation to trigger a widespread deployment at an explosive rate was needed.
On the contrary, there were some opposing comments such as, "Even if the voice quality of telephones improved, how much value can it have?" The more they knew about telephones, the more negative response we received by referencing past failures including the high-grade telephone of ISDN and the cellular phone promoting superior voice quality. With such rejections, we were starting to have doubts of our own. Each time, Hiromi and I would listen to the voice of the prototype telephone again. And each time, our feeling of "there has to be some value" grew stronger. We just couldn't logically explain it.
Even if our inspiration was correct, there was just too much of a gap to proceed as a business. There were always conflictions with existing operations and we were becoming distressed by this gap. We couldn't come up with an effective plan and were becoming hopelessly lost. Just then, an article called "OKI Venture Fund Sky-high" on the in-house intranet caught my eyes.
Participation in the incubation support program
According to the intranet, "OKI Venture Fund Sky-high" was an in-house fund established in 2002 for funding new businesses utilizing the advantages of products, technologies and market, accompanied by an incubation support program. It gave employees with the will and ideas the opportunity to start a new business through means of funding when the plans for the business became clear.
Although there are many engineers working at OKI, ideas and technologies do no necessarily lead to a business. The program finds such ideas and technologies with potential, finishes the seed or technologies of business into a product and supports the process of creating a business. The second public offering of this funding was to be held soon.
The intranet also went on to say that this would not be an easy road as there will be screening tests and selection by the funding committee.
Applying for entry into this program meant that we would have to leave our current duties. In other words, it was "go or no go". In the chance that our idea didn't lead to a business, we may not have a desk when we return to our workplace. According to the person who participated in the first public offering and passed the screening test, it was an extremely difficult program. Needless to say, we hesitated. But we felt that we would regret it for the rest of our lives if we didn't do this now. We were drawn by the spell of "broadband voice," which seemed to call on us from another dimension.
We need to take advantage of the expertise that can be gained from this program. And with such thoughts, we decided to participate in the program. And the participation meant cutting off all lines of retreat.
Attaining enlightenment of "eSound"
We participated in the incubation support program that lasted for four months. What we experienced there was indescribable. The approach was unique and fresh, even when not accounting for my inexperience in the ways of the world and my life I had dedicated myself to developing communication devices. I had the opportunity to meet many, many people exceeding the boundaries of the industry. My experience and the people I met in the program have become precious assets of mine.
Through this program, I became aware just how telephones have infiltrated into our society as an indispensable infrastructure. I realized that there is a barrier of common sense for telephones that is deeply intertwined as an infrastructure that people have given up unconsciously. I was made aware how narrow-minded I have been. Each day of the program brought a new and awakening experience.
By the time the program ended, we were made aware that our initial concept, which started as a "telephone with superior voice quality," only amounted to a small percentage of "broadband voice." Broadband voice had a value totally different from telephones in our society. And I was able to picture how the world would be with broadband voice; how broadband voice would be applied as an infrastructure in the society and how it would change the standards of living. I was enlightened by the fact that such a world would come, and was motivated to create such a world no matter what people say.
The concept we came upon during this time was "eSound."
... To be continued
