asynchronous communication
DESCRIPTION
Why asynchronous communication is the way to be!!TRANSCRIPT
Simple definition
Asynchronous communication is when the sender of the information and the receiver
need not be online at the same time.
Technical definition
The asynchronous communication technique is a physical layer transmission technique which is most widely used for personal computers providing connectivity to printers, modems, fax machines, etc. There need not be any timing relationship between successive characters (or bytes of data). Individual characters may be separated by any arbitrary idle period.
Asynchronous transmission of a series of characters
Redesigning business communication
Cathy emails Tom about the
contract from a secure email ID which takes her
only 5 min
Asynchronous
Cathy tried to reach Tom for nearly an hour before she gave up. Tom was traveling on business and could not attend the call.
Synchronous
Research shows that as far as quality of communication is concerned(ie. Whether communication definitely leads to the effective transfer of information) there has been no significant differences between the two forms
of communication.
Tipping point to the Asynchronous wayIf Cathy needs to explain to Tom why they need
to negotiate the contract at a certain value, then she should set up a face-to-face meeting with Tom. But if Tom already has information on the commercial details and she only needs to tell him what would be the final price, she
will be better off using asynchronous communication!
Why go Asynchronous?
• Asynchronous communication encourages time for reflection and reaction to others.
• It allows users the ability to work at their own pace and control the pace of information.
• There are fewer time restrictions with the possibility of flexible working hours. (Bremer, 1998)
• The use of the Internet and the World Wide Web allows users to have access to information at all times.
• Interactions can happen at any time of day with reasonably quick responses, rather than waiting until the next face-to-face meeting
• More cost effective than synchronous communication
Advantages for Providers
• Over provisioned networks:– No provision for average usage only peak usage provision– More wastage of resources
• Asynchrony helps to – Streamline communication based on network usage/availability– Helps provision for the average case– Better scalability for users
• Cheaper to install new infrastructure– Less peak demand
Advantages for Users
• Extensive operating range– Better coverage even in out of range areas (eg. Rural areas)
• With asynchronous communication users can record the message when out of range and then push it into the network when connectivity is established.
• Cost advantages ($0.20/min in Uganda on MTN)
• Providers may pass the cost benefits to the users as they stand to gain by pushing users to asynchronous communication
What we do in asynchronous communication
1. Voice Snap endeavors to provide the much needed voice component in asynchronous communication
2. This enables users to speak up in their own language, thus removing the language barrier traditionally listed as a weakness of asynchronous communication
3. Voice Snap is not a transcription or translation tool. Instead it transports messages recorded in your own voice to the intended recipient or a group of recipients.
4. Simply put, it adds an audio component to the existing asynchronous communication model.
5. Voice Snap can be enabled over landline telephone, Mobile as well as the internet
Some areas where we can use Asynchronous communication
This is not an exhaustive list. Every day we come across dozens of applications where asynchronous communication
can be used effectively.
Our clients
User case study
A large publishing house deployed the asynchronous voice communication solution from Voice Snap:
Aim: To connect their feet on street sales men who travel across states with little or no network coverage but who must report to the central office all their daily sales summary.
Challenge: Most of these sales men are obviously never at the same place for a considerable duration of time and do not work the traditional business hours. They also have a diversity of languages which is usually a barrier when they attempt formal business communication reports(this is not their core competency anyway)
Results
Users loved the voice message component:
•It created better usability than SMS by removing the language barrier•“it was like direct calling; we were talking”•SMS is not true asynchrony: messages are not stored on the phone•Users understand range extension and manage receiver disconnection more effectively.•Users preferred the per port costing that did not create a cap on the number of voice messages sent•This ended up reducing nearly 40%* of the outstation communicationn bills
*(as provided by user)
