Bonjour, je dois faire le résumé en français d'un texte mais je suis complètement paumé même avec les outils de traduction et c'est le dernier exercice qu'il me reste. Y aurait-il une âme charitable pour m'aider? Voici le texte (le résumé doit être fait en 250 mots maxi):
Shake out and shape up
New tools could save money and win custom — but take advice first,
says Clare Gascoigne.
"Information and communications technology always
seems to be moving at a breakneck speed, but in fact
it’s a mature industry," he says. "Broadband? It’s just the
same only faster. It’s like taking the motorway instead of
a country lane."
But the changes now happening require a leap of perception
akin to moving from a Model T Ford to a Formula
One Ferrari: it’s the same basic technology, but the performance
and handling are very different. Although we
know the internet uses telephony to put images on the
screen, we still think of handsets and keypads when it
comes to talking to people. A document can be e-mailed
or faxed, but we still think of it as a piece of paper rather
than a series of digital dots. These are perceptions that
need to be changed if businesses are to take full advantage
of technology. "There’s no split between types of
data now," says Poulton. "Voice, e-mail, paper — it’s all
the same thing."
But for the small or medium-sized business, the real
change is not what can be done, but the price at which
it can be done. New applications of existing technology
mean cheaper phone bills — which, given that telecommunications
can account for up to a third of a company’s
IT budget, can make a healthy difference to the bottom
line. With the gradual dismantling of the BT infrastructure
(allowing any company to "own" the wires that come
into your home or business), and the development of
wireless telephony (enabling mobiles and handhelds to
access e-mail, the internet and the corporate intranet), a
host of telephony competitors has come into the market,
driving down the cost to the consumer.
"For the first time, any company can compete on a level
playing field with BT in terms of the services it can offer,"
says Kim Thesiger, co-founder of the Internet Telephony
Service Providers’ Association. "At the moment, telephone
calls still have to be routed through BT, but the
key with the new regime is that at no point does it have
to touch BT infrastructure."
Some people may feel they have been here before.
Wasn’t the internet going to drive down costs and help
businesses work faster and smarter? Instead, some companies
ended up with a variety of proprietary systems
and technology, none of which worked with each other.
The difference now is that technology companies are
working to the same standard, according to Duncan
Black, director of corporate solutions strategy at Cable & Wireless. "Internet Protocol [IP] is the answer — whatever
the question," he says. IP is a standard signalling protocol
used to send packets of data over a network, and which
allows different operating systems to talk to each other.
The convergence of phone, internet, fax and company
data means all the information is presented in the same
technological format.
Voice-over IP (VOIP), which allows you to use the
internet to make telephone calls, can dramatically reduce
global telephone bills and is forecast to be worth $47m a
year worldwide by 2009, according to Juniper Research,
an industry analyst.
"The big problem now is that companies have built up
more and more complex systems as the business has
grown," says Black. "Everyone is starting from a different
place — not everyone has the luxury of starting afresh
— but they must get to convergence as economically as
possible. It’s about finding the expertise and people to
take you on that journey."
Of course, not everyone needs convergence. Instead of
accessing VOIP, you may be able to set up a virtual private
network (VPN) for internal communications, which
would still have a significant effect on your costs. Maybe
it would be useful to have one telephone number that
rang the office phone and your mobile at the same time.
Perhaps your life would be made easier if a voice message
left on your phone popped up as an e-mail attachment
on your laptop. Much depends on the nature of your
business and its growth plans.
"A key issue is understanding where you want your business
to be in five years’ time, and a lot of small businesses
don’t have a really strong view on that," says Poulton.
"If you’re a local plumber then VOIP is unlikely to lead
to big savings. If you’re a small manufacturer trading in
Europe or the US, then there are potentially big savings
to be made."
And those savings need not only be in external communications.
Pret à Manger, the sandwich chain, has installed
VOIP to communicate between shops, and estimates
the cost savings at £ 10,000 a year, according to a DTI
brochure on VOIP. Parthenon Publishing, a publisher
based in London and Leicester, used IP telephony to
link two offices in Leicester. "The new office behaves as
if it was part of our other building," says Jeremy Smith,
business communications manager. The company also
saw a significant rise in the use of e-mail attachments
from authors and printers, cutting the courier costs and
saving time.
But these businesses are out in the forefront. "We are still
very much in the early stages of adoption," says Thesiger.
"Japan has 7m-8m VOIP users; there are 50,000-100,000
in the UK. The word is only just beginning to get out."
Part of the problem is that the whole subject can seem
dauntingly impenetrable. The acronyms come thick and
fast and each salesman brings a new must-have product.
Given the increased competition and the sheer number
of companies vying for your business, it can seem impossible
to decide which carrier to pick.
"A lot of businesses get sold solutions instead of buying
them,» says Poulton. «You really need to talk to someone
who is independent. The best way is through informal
networking opportunities; go to a business breakfast and
ask your neighbour what he or she does. If a company
salesman visits, insist on getting some case studies — talk
to them and find out how often things go wrong and
what the support is like."
Price is often the focus for SMEs, but support, contractual
terms and billing accuracy are all important elements of
the mix. Remember also that there may be installation
costs — Parthenon spent £ 20,000 on installing fibreoptic
cabling — and staff will need to be trained on a new
system, an expense that is often forgotten.
Changing technology brings the chance for small and
medium-sized businesses to compete effectively with
larger businesses. There are significant cost savings to be
made for some companies, and the new processes can
help you serve your customers better. But take care not to
be panicked into buying.
Message édité par frumos le 28-11-2008 à 11:03:46