The networking infrastructure in any large enterprise company is extraordinarily complex. Planning for installing an enterprise network must include the process of coordination between vendors, service providers, and the company. And, all too often, deploying the network is the last roadblock before opening a new location, so the pressure is on everyone to get it right.
And, unique to an enterprise network, there are far more pieces to connect than with your average mom-and-pop operation. Among many important parts, are:
- Configuration management
- Database management
- Operating systems
- Communication protocols
- Mobile networking
- LANs
- WANs
- Systems and storage management
- Internet and company intranets
Your enterprise IT leaders have all this on their plate for installing the new network, all while maintaining ongoing operations. Staffing everything, and planning for both major lanes (new launch and existing network), means that the one relationship they need to absolutely count on is your service provider. And, oddly enough, that is where most of the main headaches from your new installation arise.
Top Difficulties Installing an Enterprise Network
When you begin installing an enterprise network, this is where the “service” in “Service Provider” really becomes important.
Service Level Agreement (SLA)
The service level agreement you establish or negotiate with your service provider is critical to your entire experience. All enterprise providers are the same, until an issue arises. This is when enterprise separates itself from what we all know as “business class.” Your response timeframe when an issue occurs is one of the most important user experiences for enterprise customers.
Let’s face it - technology is inherently faulted and could fail at some point. It is how your service provider deals with that failure and resulting service outage that makes or breaks the relationship. Customer experience is something that CAN be controlled and SHOULD be controlled with your enterprise provider.
Network Control/Reseller Model
An enterprise company should have access to a network that will not have resold infrastructure which is maintained, repaired, or monitored by, and therefore inaccessible to anyone but a third party. Direct access to your network and to your enterprise provider point of contact is critical.
This is often referred to as the “One Person to Blame” model. With only one point of contact for everything, that person is wholly responsible for getting your enterprise network back up and running if and when problems arise. So passing the buck or shirking responsibility because of another hidden partner that handles part of your network is history.
Latency
Latency is that annoying time delay between when an action is initiated on your network and when it actually happens. Enterprise networks demand the lowest latency possible in order for multiple applications to continue operations at the speed of modern business. Today’s high-speed applications and devices are sensitive to latency, especially those that require real-time communication.
Any slowdown or service disruption is obvious, glaring, and unacceptable. Latency is critical to almost every application. If your enterprise provider does not guarantee latency, you should consider looking elsewhere. Period.
Customer Service
Customer service is the hot demand in telecom. Good customer service supersedes many other features and benefits. When you have questions, deadlines to meet, need a fast upgrade, or when promises are not kept... customer service allows an IT department to properly communicate to their executives in order to prevent job loss. This promotes a great working partnership.
If you cannot get your enterprise network provider on the telephone, cannot make timely upgrades, and their idea of “service” mirrors a local fast-food place, it’s time to find a new service provider.
Growth
An enterprise company is always growing. Is your enterprise provider also growing? If a provider becomes stagnant in the face of an enterprise growth model, a few things can occur that will negatively impact your business.
- Your enterprise expands beyond what the provider can offer. This causes you to purchase new network on top of the current bills that are not even contributing to their growth any longer. Bill overlap should be avoided at all costs.
- The provider’s technology is not up to date, or the pricing is not competitive. This forces your enterprise company to look elsewhere. Now, you are back at square one, starting over.
MHO Enterprise Networking
These things must be assessed in advance to choosing your provider. MHO offers guaranteed reliability, low latency, fast installation, an MPLS core network, scalable bandwidth, and unparalleled customer service. MHO also tailors each network to the client’s unique needs. You can be sure that our technology is state-of-the-art and our pricing is competitive. Give us a call at (877) WANT-MHO to check for availability in your area.
