Know The Industry :: IT in Focus
The home connection
Wondering where some of the hottest action in the IT world is right now? Well, if you're guessing state-of-the-art government supercomputers or high-security corporate data centres, think again. The top minds in the technology industry are thinking about your living room.
Digital home networks, which effectively bring together the data processing power of computers and the entertainment capabilities of stereos, TVs and games consoles, have been creating a stir in the IT industry ever since someone hooked their PC up to a hi-fi.
But in recent years interest in this area has ballooned thanks to a raft of technologies making it easier than ever to deliver digital entertainment to the home, developed both by traditional manufacturers and specialists such as Linksys, the current leader in home networking.
In one corner are the devices that serve to capture, store and play media.
These generally fall into one of three categories: computer equipment, such as PCs, printers and scanners; consumer electronics (CE) devices such as TVs, radios and stereos; and mobile technologies such as IP phones, personal digital assistants and laptops.
Increasingly these devices are being sold with some kind of home networking connection. In-Stat/MDR has estimated that the total value of this kind of equipment is due to reach around US$17.1 billion by 2008.
The other technological advance paving the way for home digital networks is the network itself, which has two main components. The first of these is the connection from the home to the outside world, which for practical purposes is almost always some form of broadband link.
The second network component is made up of the connections between the different devices in the home. Until quite recently, the majority of home networks were based on wires - typically the category 5 cables needed for high-speed data transfer between computers.
In recent times, however, the wide availability and greater convenience of wireless systems has made them the preferred option for home networking.
Today's digital home network will typically be built around a wireless unit such as a Linksys broadband router which directs information between the different devices on the network and allows them to communicate over a broadband connection with content providers.
Each device on the network will, in turn, have its own wireless connection. Typically this will be a Wi-Fi (802.11) standard, although technically some elements of home networks could be built around other communications protocols, such as WiMAX, Bluetooth or 3G mobile.
The over-riding requirement for all of them, from a technology point of view, is that they need to be simple to install and use. If the limit of your technological experience is switching channels on a TV, you are hardly going to bother with programming a wireless router.
To cater for this, home networking technology makers have been imitating CE manufacturers and building devices which are basically plug'n'play. On Linksys' wireless routers, for example, a home network can be secured at the press of a button.
Where does all this leave you if you are looking for a career in IT or networking? Quite well off, as it happens.
On one hand, the advent of digital home networks means an ever-wider range of manufacturers are incorporating networking into their products. Right now, IT skills are already essential for research and development work in virtually any CE maker.
In future, the range of jobs requiring a knowledge of networking is likely to expand along with the types of device that get incorporated into home networks (watch out for video surveillance and kitchen appliances being added to the list very soon).
On another hand, no matter how simple digital home networks become, there will always be a need for someone to explain how they work, help put them together and maintain them once they are up and running.
This translates into great opportunities for people with networking skills in the CE and home IT retail sectors, and also for budding entrepreneurs who fancy specialising in this area.
The material covered in Cisco Networking Academy Program courses such as IT Essentials, CCNA® and CCNP® provides an excellent grounding in the skills needed to take advantage of the growing demand for home digital networks.
And if you are the sort who has always enjoyed mucking around with gadgets around the house, this is an area where you will feel right at home...