And finally, there's disaster recovery and backup that needs to be dealt with within companies. All the data we're creating and consuming personally and professionally has to be stored and protected.

Is there enough cooperation in the study group to make this happen on time? I have to commend the study group for all the hard work they are doing to move this process forward. The IEEE requires 75 percent or greater for consensus building, and we've been able to achieve that. I just can't speak highly enough about the members of this group and their commitment levels.

Sandra Gittlen is a freelance technology editor near Boston. Former events editor and writer at Network World, she developed and hosted the magazine's technology road shows. She is also the former managing editor of Network World's popular networking site, Fusion. She has won several industry awards for her reporting, including the American Society of Business Publication Editors' prestigious Gold Award. She can be reached at sgittlen@charter.net.