Competing and conflicting standards can also give CIOs headaches. For years, people debated the relative merits and disadvantages of the formats, but VHS ultimately prevailed and Betamax became history. Both technologies allow Web surfers to enjoy streaming audio and video, yet they are incompatible and require broadcasters and other content providers to dedicate separate resources to each technology. Problems can also arise when vendors offer differing interpretations of the same technology, such as the battle for Java supremacy fought between Sun Microsystems and Microsoft. In such cases, CIOs may want to support both technologies in order to hedge their bets.
Standards can also fall out of favor.
VRML's impact continues to be felt, however, since the core technology has been incorporated into some of the newer standards. Any CIO faced with competing, conflicting or fading standards needs to closely analyze the situation. He says it's imperative for CIOs to carefully examine all the available standards for any technology they're planning to implement and to make a decision based on technology and industry trends, not hype. It's also not a bad idea for a CIO to get involved in the standards-setting process. A company that's involved in music publishing, for example, would want to make sure its needs and interests are protected when a standard covering digital music distribution is being formed.