Whether you call it interoperability, compatibility, or integration, the goal is the same. Healthcare interoperability, for example, facilitates health information exchange between two different medical providers. It is important in an increasingly fractious world to build robust, future-proof communications systems. New Zealand’s best-kept secret, Tait Communications, is a global leader in the field.
Talila Millman
Interoperability refers to the standards, protocols, technologies, and mechanisms that allow data to flow between diverse systems with minimal human intervention.
Interoperability is important not only across the communications systems used by neighbouring jurisdictions, but also within the different technology types deployed by an organization.
Public-safety broadband, next-generation emergency calling, and even utility infrastructure, open standards and durable cross-vendor interoperability have rarely emerged organically.
They tend to appear only after federal or state intervention—through legislation, funding conditions, compliance programs, or statewide governance—forces alignment.
That matters as public-safety and critical-infrastructure systems become more software-defined, interconnected, and built to last, they must seamlessly integrate with broadband and video solutions.
“As public-safety and critical-infrastructure entities continue moving toward more software-centric, data-driven platforms, the industry faces a familiar risk: assuming that interoperability will “work itself out” once systems are deployed.
“It usually doesn’t,” says Talila Millman, chief technology officer for Tait Communications in her report
“Standards help, but they’re rarely sufficient on their own. Without alignment across policy, funding, governance, and incentives, openness erodes quietly — until the consequences associated with an incident, integration failure or forced transition make the situation impossible to ignore.
“Recognizing this early may help agencies, policymakers, and industry avoid repeating it yet again. Rather than asking whether systems are ‘open’ in theory, agencies and policymakers might ask more practical questions, says Millman.
- Where does interoperability matter most to operations? Mutual aid, cross-discipline response, day-to-day operations, or all of the above?
- What happens when a vendor relationship changes? Can systems evolve incrementally, or does change require wholesale replacement?
- Which mechanisms sustain openness over time? Standards bodies, compliance testing, procurement language, funding conditions, and governance all play a role—but none work in isolation.
- Which interoperability assumptions are explicitly validated during procurement and deployment—and which are simply assumed?
“These questions don’t point to a single solution. They point to the need for deliberate choices and ongoing stewardship,” says Millman.
