Peer-to-Peer Working Group defines the future of P2PSanta Clara 12 June 2001 The Peer-to-Peer Working Group (P2PWG), created for the advancement and interoperability of peer-to-peer computing, rounded out two full days of presentations and working group sessions with a plan of action and a commitment from over sixty company representatives to take peer-to-peer computing to the next level.
The two-day event was held at the Santa Clara Marriott in Santa Clara, California, on May 30th and 31st. The working group event featured speaker presentations from Andrea Williams Rice, managing director and analyst at Deutsche Bank, Alex Brown and Alex Veytsel, research associate and analyst of the Aberdeen Group, as well as peer-to-peer product demonstrations from Amoweba, Centerspan, eLiberation, Endeavors, Jibe, NPI (New Productivity Initiative), OnSystems, O'Reilly & Associates, PeerGlobal and Thinkstream. The working group sessions focused on security, NAT and firewalls, file services, peer-to-peer terminology and key marketing initiatives to promote peer-to-peer computing. It's really exciting to see so many companies come together, address, debate and challenge critical issues in peer-to-peer computing, then walk away with an agreed plan of action," stated Brian Morrow, President of Endeavors Technology and chair of the Peer-to-Peer Working Group. "It's a good feeling to know that this group is willing to do what it takes to advance peer-to-peer computing and make a difference." Most of the critical issues stemming from the two-day session addressed technical challenges associated with topics such as security, interoperability, and firewalls. However, also high on the list of topics were concerns with the image of Peer-to-Peer in the broader space - due to the frequent association with Napster and recent negative press - and the viability of peer-to-peer business models. "There is no single P-to-P market, but there is a market for P-to-P," stated Alex Veytsel, research associate and analyst of the Aberdeen Group. "Right now it is clear that there is a diverse portfolio of opportunities for P-to-P, the question is, which ones will gain the most traction in the months and years to come." One thing is certain, peer-to-peer members and non-members alike are coming together to address the issues and define the future of P2P. With a new membership structure, also agreed during this event, individual members can join for as little as $500 per year and be part of history. The new peer-to-peer glossary, as well as speaker presentations and vendor papers from the May 30th and 31st event are available at http://www.p2pwg.org.
Ad Emmen |
 |