MPLS networks are great and they are the evolution from Frame Relay. I can almost say that a frame relay network is dead. Not the Frame Relay Encapsulation, but the multiple DLCI’s to multiple locations.
There are three basic designs I find out there to connect multiple sites with access to all sites.

Tunnels
The first is where each location has an internet connection and then tunnels are created. On the surface this is the least expensive. In the long run if you have more than two sites or running VOIP this will quickly become a money pit for consulting. The reason this becomes an issue is because for each site you add it is a multiple of tunnels. Finally there is no quality of service.

Example: 2 sites = 1 tunnel, 3 sites = 3 tunnels, 4 sites = 6 tunnels, 5 sites = 9 tunnels, Etc…

Point to Point
The second is where a point to point circuit is deployed between sites. If there are a number of sites in the same local vicinity this may be the most cost effective and highest performing network. There can be a level of diminishing returns if the mileage between sites eats up the cost savings. Even though you may daisy chain sites or bring all of the T1’s into a central site you still have access to all sites. If your servers are in the main site this again may be the lease cost alternative. Read the rest of this entry »

You must outsource your data telecommunication needs unless you are going to get all of the agreements in place then lay your own fiber. All carriers outsource services, including technical support. Carriers buy capacity from other carriers when they don’t have the resources. Outsourcing no matter what you relabeled it to is outsourcing.

The Internet giants don’t keep all of their support calls within the US. If I call the colossal big boys of the internet I could be in the Philippines, Argentina Australia, Brazil, Chile China or India. If I get India I hang up and try again. I find that outsourced Indian support is one of the least expensive, so not much is spent on training. I have actually called with a DS3 issue and was asked what operating system I was running. They spend more time on process then support.

Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In a nut shell vendors must balance user satisfaction with desire to curb costs.

I found a few interesting statements.
“…At companies with revenues of at least $5 billion, as many as one quarter of IT jobs will be moved offshore by 2010.”ComputerWorldMay 2009

“You may not have signed a contract with your third-party IT services provider solely to cut costs. Maybe you were seeking specific skills or farming out non-core work to focus on strategic initiatives, or looking for a back door into an emerging economy.”CIO
June 2009
Read the rest of this entry »

I have heard this statement more times than I care to even count. Let’s face it as business owner you have to weigh quality of service and up time with cost. If internet is just something passive that you occasionally use to go to a web site, then the absolute cheapest internet connectivity is your solution. Usually this is the local phone company’s DSL service for $20.

If receiving email and accessing resources on the internet are as important as your telephone or your fax machine, then you need at least a T1. Higher speeds can be accomplished by bonding T1’s together or requesting higher capacity services. Any company with more than a half dozen phone lines or has DID numbers generally use a PRI (Digital Phone line). This Digital Phone line uses a T1 with some additional signaling to deliver dial tone to your PBX. My point is, if a T1 is the quality you need to run your phones, you should run a service equal on the data side. Read the rest of this entry »