War is hell!

I write this column as we are a little over one week into Operation Iraqi Freedom. Because of world events, this month's column has turned into a very challenging space to fill.

Two anecdotes speak volumes. Military helicopters drone over my house in northern New Jersey for security purposes. I feel better and worse because of their presence. Five schools in Connecticut pulled out of our local high school winter percussion competition this weekend because of policies forbidding student trips outside of the state, especially including trips that might cross the Hudson River. I am angry they chose not to come, but the anger is not at them.

A deep ambivalence has joined the cauldron of emotions and thoughts boiling, I believe, in all of us: anxiety; hope; hate; revenge; relief; concern for the safety of our ourselves, friends, family and the extended family now in harms way; resolve to not let the bad guys win; angst over the world we are living in and are leaving for our children; fear we are doing the wrong thing going against the sentiments of so many around the world; satisfaction we are doing the right thing rather than waiting for the next shoe to drop; sadness at knowing that post-Saddam being an American will be an ugly proposition in most of the rest of the world, etc. Boiling them together unfortunately is not an act of purification, it is just an act of continual stewing. Thus far, it has created little more than a foul smell and a bad taste. Rumination isn't fun. Yet, hope springs eternal. I know we all hope that those who serve in the coalition will accomplish their mission quickly and effectively, and return home safely. That shared sentiment seems to be about the only thing any of us know for certain right now.

As a result of this gnawing ambivalence, writing about the trials and tribulations of the telecommunications and IT industries seems so trivial. However, not writing about it feels almost like an act of cowardice. Hence, as a compromise to ignoring the world around us and concentrating only on the business of the business we are in, this seems like an appropriate time for reflection.

One the one hand, and all politics aside, we can marvel at the ingenuity of the members of the high-tech community. I am in awe of the coalition forces' ability to dominate the broad battlefield through its deployment of sophisticated "digital battlefield" IT and communications capabilities. I am also disconcerted and amazed by the resourcefulness of the enemy forces to remain under organic operational functionality using what we might deem "legacy" capabilities--analog television, G2 cell phones, radio, newspapers, word-of-mouth and text-only Web sites.

As U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has opined, we appear to be closer to the beginning of this campaign rather than its end. Thus, drawing conclusions about things can be problematic at best. Interestingly, in terms of what we as IT and communications professionals may learn from all of this, what I just said about drawing conclusions too quickly might be the biggest learning of all.

In no particular order, here are a few other early potential lessons, or at least leading indicators on matters to be contemplated.

1. Real-time is not the only time. Major consultancies and some vendors have bought into the notion that if it isn't done in real-time (it used to be Internet Time) you are clueless and hopelessly behind the eight ball in terms of being responsive to dramatic and rapid changes in your environment and the ability to respond. In other words, speed is the killer application.
   
   Gazing no further than the nearest TV and watching the news reveals how disastrous believing that real-time is the only time can be. Clearly, the embedding of reporters has created unexpected costs and unintended consequences to go along with the benefits. Ultimately, good decisions are the result of good analysis of good inputs, rushing to judgment too quickly can be just as catastrophic as waiting too long. Having great intelligence and great tools in the hands of great people is the best protection against hasty miscalculations. Context, and the ability to understand and apply it, is as important as content. Narrowband real-time perceptions can have consequential broadband implications.

3. Security is much more important than we thought. The surveys in the trade press keep exposing an under appreciation on the part of IT managers to: implement many of the security capabilities they have in their existing systems and software; embed in their network architecture end-to-end security considerations; include in their business continuity plans constant touch always-on/always-available contingencies for their people; thoroughly integrate the protection of physical assets with protection of human assets--survivability during a crisis, and operational excellence both during and in the aftermath of a crisis. 
   
   The need for comprehensive planning, including planning for the unexpected and the impact of unintended consequences, has been highlighted by the supply chain issues and humanitarian concerns the coalition forces now face in their rush to Baghdad. What is clear on the day this is written is that the next few days are going to underscore how good the coalition plan was for securing and thus sustaining the operation, and how flexible the plan can be in terms of the changed reality of the resolve of the opposition based on what appears to be unrealized expectations going in. We know our forces have had the best training in the world, we can only hope they also have the best plan.

5. Connectivity and not technology is what counts. It is not called "command and control" for nothing. It was target No. 1 for good reason. The lesson here should be that seamless secure communications over heterogeneous networks and network elements is the ultimate Holy Grail. Obstacles, such as proprietary solutions, that end up being roadblocks to the provisioning of a seamless experience to all members of a networked affinity group are going to need to be evaluated in light of this experience. The inability of the New York Fire and Police to communicate with each other during 9/11 raised this issue to a major concern. Let's hope this war raises it to its rightful place at the top of the list of customers.

Yes, war is hell. However, assuming a return to stability if not normalcy, there is something to be said for the lessons forged in the inferno. Let's hope that this space can be filled with more mundane thoughts next month.

Peter Bernstein is President of Infonautics Consulting Inc. He can be reached at pb111451@optonline.net.