Technology departments are not
immune from today’s financial and
economic crisis. In today’s economy IT departments are being asked to look at
ways to consolidate their infrastructure and
maintain efficiencies, which brings challenges with both technology and people.
“For businesses with separate data and
telecommunications networks, switching to
MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching)
technology for a converged network may be
a sensible solution,” said Dave Braner, Chief
Information Officer for CIMCO Communications. “MPLS reduces costs, simplifies management, provides flexibility within your
own network and standardizes platforms
and technology for the business. The MPLS
technology provides one underlying infrastructure that is scalable and adaptable.”
Smart Business asked Braner what enterprises should consider when switching to
MPLS as a method of consolidation.
What are the advantages of MPLS?
MPLS technology provides an infrastructure that takes your business needs of
today and ‘future proofs’ your needs of
tomorrow. This infrastructure has been
designed to support next generation applications, provide scalability as your company grows and reduce capital investments.
You will receive connectivity to and from all
locations within your network with built in
redundancy from traffic engineering in the
MPLS network. MPLS converges multiple
applications (voice, video and data) onto
one network. This technology provides the
capability to prioritize traffic riding the
MPLS network using CoS (Class of
Service). Class of Service assigns the traffic
to an appropriate bucket, in order of importance. This feature allows your network to
function at a more efficient level. By having
a consolidated network, you will see cost
efficiencies and reductions.
What should you consider when determining
if MPLS technology is the proper solution for
your enterprise?
Start discussions with your IT team to
identify how your current network infrastructure supports your business needs and
areas where you can improve your company’s productivity and efficiencies. What is
your current infrastructure and how does
that meet the goals and objectives that you
have today and in the future? Where are
you with commitments with your existing
technology? Would MPLS provide you with
cost savings across your overall company?
What is your current equipment and will it
need to be replaced? Identify areas of risk.
How is you company’s throughput?
Evaluate your disaster recovery plan that
exists today and identify how MPLS will
improve that.
What factors should you consider when
choosing a provider?
Selecting a service provider requires taking time to assess your networking requirements, environment and objectives. You
need a reliable technology provider to
ensure you can run your business effectively. Since an MPLS solution will be the foundation of your business communications,
there are some important criteria to review.
How long has the provider been offering
data solutions such as MPLS? What type of
core infrastructure does the provider have
supporting its own network? Do they have
service level agreements (SLAs) that meet
or exceed industry standards? Does the
provider have a client list of references with
similar solutions to what your company is
seeking? What is their support process?
Make sure to check the financial stability of
the provider. In today’s economic climate,
no matter the size of the provider, it’s imperative to make sure they will be able to provide service to you well into the future.
Do you have any examples of an enterprise
migrating successfully to MPLS?
I have colleague in the industry that leads
an IT organization for a company servicing
the hospitality, medical and industrial sectors. The company had grown rapidly to 25
locations nationally and, in the process,
acquired several Internet and voice
providers. They transitioned all voice and
data services to an MPLS solution, which
provided the company its own private network. The company was able to prioritize
its traffic flow over the network. The
enhanced connectivity and increased
bandwidth allows them to run several
applications at the same time, improving
productivity at all locations. In addition,
they reduced expenses and capital that
would have been incurred under the previous configuration. All services were consolidated to one vendor, eliminating multiple contracts and suppliers, and outsourced monitoring of the network to the
same provider. Most importantly, this company is now ready for future growth with a
network that can grow and scale along
with the business.
DAVE BRANER is Chief Information Officer for Communications, based in the Chicago metropolitan area. Reach him at (630) 691-8080
or [email protected].
