"What, Who & How to Buy" information for business phone system and office technology decision makers written by sales partners and their "cloud services" vendors. Want to purchase your multi-location phone systems, data networks or software applications from an INDEPENDENT partner that represents ALL the BEST vendors? You're at the right blog.
Owners and IT managers of multi-location businesses know two things for sure:
First, every employee in every location blames their slow Internet connection for productivity losses, and
Second, there's not a single nationwide company that provides Internet service that's high in quality, low in cost and available everywhere.
So what's a multi-location business owner or IT manager to do to improve their employee's Internet speeds, morale and productivity without creating an in-house telecom department to manage and pay all the different Internet phone bills from all the different low-cost Internet service providers for all their different locations?
Broadband Internet Aggregation...
But how does that work and who's got a successful track record of doing that? We do, of course!
Invest the next 90 seconds of your life watching the following video that explains how "broadband Internet aggregation" can solve your multi-location Internet connections headache and then give us a call to discuss what we can do for you.
Are you drowning in any of the following terms and acronyms? Cable, fiber, DSL, 3G, 4G, LTE, T1, WAN, MPLS, metro Ethernet, wide area network, Cox, Time Warner Cable, Comcast? Call us. We're independent telecom agents and channel sales partners who know the "inside secrets" to help your business get the best Internet connectivity from the highest quality but lowest cost providers.
We are also your local authorized distributor for Bandwave Systems' broadband aggregation solutions. We've helped many businesses aggregate their multi-location Internet challenges and we look forward to helping you as well!
If you've got operations problems in your business you know you're loosing money.
So where's the best place to start looking to find something in your operations that's broken that you can actually afford to fix?
Start first by looking at your voice & data communications systems.
Many business owners have discovered that the root of their business operations problems were actually found in the way their business was communicating information between business units within their company and their customers, prospects and suppliers.
How do you Connect, Transmit and Protect your Business Information?
As the short video below suggests, finding the root of operations problems can often be as simple as confirming how you are connecting your different business operation units to each other, how your units are transmitting information to one another and how that information is protected before, during and after transit.
Should you connect over public or private networks? If you can afford a private MPLS network to connect your multiple, geographically dispersed business units you will command the ability to closely monitor and protect all aspects of your operations.
If cost is an issue, creating an IP-VPN using cheaper public Internet connections like DSL or coax cable works for may businesses but the higher long term labor costs of managing a public Internet IP-VPN could prove more costly in the long run.
For more tips please watch the short video below from CenturyLink that provides tips for improving your business operations.
Let a Telecom Agent or Independent Carrier Sales Partner Diagnose Your Ops Problem
When it comes to identifying and cost effectively solving communications problems that are creating operational problems for your business, no one has more experience than your local telecom agent or independent carrier sales partner.
Agents and partners are vendor neutral and so they can share with you all the communications war stories that they've learned from their other customers who've already solved some of the problems that you are currently struggling with.
Technology is vital to improving the operations of your small business.
It can greatly increase your efficiency. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau
of Labor statistics, business productivity increased at a 3.6% annual rate
during just the first quarter of 2010. Much of this increase is due to
technology.
So, what technologies do you need to gain maximum productivity?
Start with connectivity. You need a reliable and
secure high-speed internet connection. As your business grows, so will website
and e-mail traffic. There are a range of options possible from basic popular
DSL, cable or satellite to a T1, PRI, ATM, frame relay or even fiber optics as you need
to send and receive more and more data. Make sure you research your options and
talk about them with your service provider to make sure your business is
getting the best connection for your needs.
You may want to consider taking
advantage of Internet-based computing options like cloud computing. Cloud
computing is a technology that lets you access services offered in the Internet
cloud. This is usually done through a third party and utilizes their service
for data storage and management. The benefits are numerous. Cloud computing is
an on demand, self-service, pay as you go, use only what you want model.
Pick an e-mail system you can count on. Your
e-mail does more than allow you to communicate with customers and vendors. It
serves as a second address for your business. Most Internet service providers
offer a choice of e-mail account technology. The basic two options are either
POP or IMAP.
POP is the more basic option and perfect if you read your messages
on one computer and don't mind storing them on your machine. Choose IMAP if you
access your e-mail through multiple
machines or if you want to store them on your provider's server. To reinforce your brand, invest in a vanity
e-mail address that lists your company's name as your domain. For example,
[email protected]. Most Internet service providers offer vanity e-mail for a
small fee.
Take charge of how you manage and store your
data. Instead of storing all of your files on your laptop, select a data
storage management system that simplifies retrieval and protects data from
loss. Often the first step is to decide whether or not you need a server. If
so, consider whether you want it at your location or if you would like to rent
space on one through a third party.
You have several data storage options. Some
examples to consider are network area storage (NAS), direct attached storage (DAS), and
storage area network (SAN). Being proactive and researching the options can save you
time each day and protect you from possible loss.
Wise technology investments to improve your operations will make you
more productive. Use this checklist to ensure you are on track.
Choose the right Internet connection.
Decide which e-mail system is right for you.
Proactively manage and store data.
This content is copyright protected. To license this content for your own website please contact Dan Baldwin at [email protected]. Photo credit: iStockPhoto.com 22459799, Keywords: technology, operations, small business, efficiency, us bureau of labor statistics, connectivity, website, e-mail, dsl, cable, satellite, T1, PRI, atm, frame relay, fiber optics, data, internet based cloud computing, data storage and management, on-demand, self service, pay as you go, POP, IMAP, data storage management system, network area storage, NAS, direct attached storage, DAS, storage area network, SAN, operations problems, voice, data, communications systems, information, connect, transmit, protect, public, private network, mpls, ip-vpn, internet connection, telecom agent, independent carrier sales partner, DSL, coax cable,
When it comes to getting the very most bandwidth for the very least amount of money business owners ask, "If a coax cable broadband internet connection works just fine at my home, why can't I use coax cable on my business wide area network or WAN"?"
Why indeed?!
The business-class phone companies will all answer this customer question with, "Cable's just a 'best effort' consumer grade product that you can't trust for business applications..."
Other times the phone companies will just fall on the ground and beg, "No! Please don't go cable!"
Well chiding and begging aside, if patching together cheap internet connections can be done using cable, 4G/LTE, DSL and fiber - shouldn't it be tried by cost conscious business owners?
Absolutely!
Sometimes it works great and sometimes it doesn't work very well at all. It all kind of depends on what kind of business applications you're running over your WAN and how sensitive the applications are to network speed and latency.
"Aggregated WANs" have been successfully created by many businesses looking for an inexpensive backup or an alternative to expensive MPLS networks.
Creating one simply requires a great deal of patience and labor as doing it successfully requires successfully interfacing with dozens of different Internet service providers or "ISPs" depending on how many different locations your business has and in what part of the country they are located in.
How Much Do You Do Yourself?
A lot, a little or none. Again, depending on your tolerance for dealing with all the ISPs you way want to engage the services of a professional WAN independent sales partner, aggregator, reseller or integrator.
If you type "WAN optimization" or "WAN aggregation" into your favorite search engine you'll be amazed at how many vendors you can find that want to help you with this sort of WAN aggregation project. Many solve the problem with people. Others solve the problem with better "secret sauce".
Let us give you some free advise.
We're in the business of helping business owners and IT decision makers navigate the murky WAN optimization vendors. Whether you want a gold-plated MPLS network or just something that works but at the least possible price - we can direct you to the vendors that can help.
Who remembers the early years of the Internet back in 1994 when we all paid $25 to America Online for just five total hours of surfing each month? Or how about in 1997 when AOL changed to unlimited pricing for just $10 a month but all their dial-up lines were suddenly busy 24/7?
Believe it or not, Internet access started out as a usage-based or metered service. And even though the Internet's been "all-you-can-eat" usage-wise for the better part of 15-years, it looks like a return to some sort of usage-based Internet pricing for both consumers and businesses alike is not too far off.
Create a network bandwidth management checklist for your business so you can learn what sort of data transmissions you're paying for, measure how much you're paying for and monitor the traffic to confirm that you're only paying for what you want to pay for.
How to Create a Network Bandwidth Management Checklist for Your Business
Do all the ways your employees use your businesses Internet connection suddenly make you feel like you're running a coffee shop with a free Internet "Hot Spot"? Well if you feel that way you've got the right model in mind.
Effective "Network Bandwidth Management" for any business owner really requires no more expertise than what a coffee shop owner employs for a public Hot Spot when they exercise control over just three things:
1. Who's accessing the network,
2. What type of data are they uploading and downloading, and
3. How much are they uploading and downloading
So step one for creating a "network bandwidth management checklist" for your business can be as easy as treating your business like a coffee shop and instituting the same Internet access controls as a coffee shop. If you're not sure where to start, click here for a simple, 3-step guide to protecting your business Internet as least as much as a coffee shop owner protects his or her public Hot Spot.
This simple, painless and practically free exercise will educate you about what you need to be looking at to protect your own business wide area network which is no doubt much more complex than a single-site coffee shop.
Many business owners rightfully think, "I don't need to worry about that as my IT director, IT department or IT contractor has got that 'covered'". Maybe yes -- maybe no! To double-check just how well your business bandwidth is being managed, download and take the "Business Bandwidth Management Self-Analysis Survey" in our Bandwidth Management Buyers Guide.
Business owners should know the answers to these important bandwidth management issues. If you don't, let the survey be an opportunity to discuss with your IT resources where your current business bandwidth management policies are today -- and where they may need to be tomorrow.
If your IT consultant isn't managing your bandwidth then feel free to contact a local bandwidth management partner listed at www.BusinessPhoneNews.com.
If you need a referral to a TA partner or vendor that has been recently recommended by their customers for bandwidth management expertise, the buyers guide lists specific partners and vendors that you may wish to call on for consulting, solution design or a competitive quote.
Helping large multi-location business customers save money on their primary and/or backup data networks by cobbling together the lowest-cost Internet access provider in any particular region in the country is good business for Bandwave Systems.
For over a decade, Bandwave Systems has taken a solution that any IT systems manager might think "this should work" (bonding DSL, 4G/LTE and cable Internet together) and making it work the way it should by ironing out all the kinks.
To learn how inexpensively increase Internet bandwidth bonding coax cable and or DSL circuits we recently interviewed Adil Zaidi, Operations Manager of Bandwave Systems.
You can also listen now with your computer speakers by clicking the player below and then follow along by reading the transcript below.
Interview Audio
Click the player above to listen to the interview now.
Interview Transcript
Dan Baldwin: Intro: Today I'm speaking with Adil Zaidi, Operations Manager of Bandwave Systems, a nationwide business broadband provider that integrates and aggregates all carriers and cable operators and technologies (DSL, T-1, Cable, Fiber Ethernet, Wireless) so that businesses with multiple locations are provided a complete nationwide network solution with just a single point of contact. Adil thanks for speaking with our audience today.
Question #1: Adil, many telecom companies have long told business customers that low cost "best effort" bandwidth services like DSL or coax cable were "residential grade" products that where not comparable in quality to higher cost T-1 level solutions and above. What is Bandwidth System's experience with having your business customers successfully use DSL and cable for business solutions?
Well Dan, we’ve actually had a lot of success with our customers using dsl and cable for business solutions. T1 technology is a high cost, low speed product. We’re able to bring in a 10meg by 1meg next gen dsl or a 50meg by 10meg cable circuit for under 200 dollars per month. We have metrics on both dsl and cable and we see two solid reliable products that have low latency and high bandwidth for the fraction of the cost of a T1 circuit.
Can cable aggregated wide area data network ("WAN") really replace an MPLS network for a multi-location business? Yes...
For years the business phone companies have been telling business owners and IT directors that using any sort of cable Internet solution in a business environment is a bad idea because cable does not have any quality of service ("QoS") and is an inherently "shared" resource meaning a business would never get the data throughput they were promised.
Well that argument is certainly still being waived around by the telcos but after experiencing the successful use of cable Internet in their homes, few business owners or IT directors have a problem with the idea of taking a serious look at replacing their expensive MPLS data network with a professionally aggregated mix of coax cable providers.
But since all the cable companies have different service areas across the country, most businesses are hesitant to try an aggregated cable dat network solution because of the problem of having to do all the aggregation in-house and then keeping track of individual cable company invoices.
Fortunately there are cable aggregation companies available to businesses that want to try an aggregated cable solution to replace their expensive MPLS wide area network or "WAN". Of all the cable aggregation companies to choose from, few have the "one stop shop" success that has been found by Bandwave Systems out of Philadelphia.
To learn just how a coax cable solution works when backing up or aggregating an MPLS network we recently interviewed Tom Azelby, Managing Director of Bandwave.
You can also listen now with your computer speakers by clicking the player below and then follow along by reading the transcript below.
Interview Audio
Click the player above to listen to the interview now.
Interview Transcript
Dan Baldwin: Today I'm speaking with Tom Azelby, the founder and managing partner of Bandwave Systems, a nationwide business broadband provider that integrates and aggregates all carriers and cable operators and technologies, DSL, T-1, cable, fiber, Ethernet, wireless and so on, so that businesses with multiple locations are provided a complete nationwide network solution with just a single point of contact. Tom, thanks for speaking with our audience today.
Tom Azelby: Thanks for having me, Dan.
DB: Tom, IT directors for
multi-location businesses are looking for alternatives to the classic MPLS
network because they need to save money, get more bandwidth for the money
they're spending or other reasons. When
typing "MPLS Alternative" into their favorite search engine, IT
directors are finding Bandwave Systems.
For years the business phone companies have been telling business owners and IT directors that using any sort of cable Internet solution in a business environment is a bad idea because cable does not have any quality of service ("QoS") and is an inherently "shared" resource meaning a business would never get the data throughput they were promised.
Well that argument is certainly still being waived around by the telcos but after experiencing the successful use of cable Internet in their homes, few business owners or IT directors have a problem with the idea of backing up the wide area date network for their business with a professionally aggregated mix of coax cable providers.
But since all the cable companies have different service areas across the country, most businesses are hesitant to try an aggregated cable backup solution because of the problem of having to do all the aggregation in-house and then keeping track of individual cable company invoices.
Fortunately there are cable aggregation companies available to businesses that want to try an aggregated cable solution to backup or augment their main MPLS wide area network or "WAN". Of all the cable aggregation companies to choose from, few have the "one stop shop" success that has been found by Bandwave Systems out of Philadelphia.
To learn just how a coax cable solution works when backing up or aggregating an MPLS network we recently interviewed Tom Azelby, Managing Director of Bandwave.
You can also listen now with your computer speakers by clicking the player below and then follow along by reading the transcript below.
Interview Audio
Click the player above to listen to the interview now.
Interview Transcript
Dan Baldwin: Today I'm speaking with Tom Azelby, the founder and managing partner of Bandwave Systems, a nationwide business broadband provider that integrates and aggregates all carriers and cable operators and technologies, DSL, T-1, cable, fiber, Ethernet, wireless and so on, so that businesses with multiple locations are provided a complete nationwide network solution with just a single point of contact. Tom, thanks for speaking with our audience today.
Tom Azelby: Thanks for having me, Dan.
DB: Tom, for years, IT directors have been led to believe that an MPLS network was the perfect solution to connect a nationwide multi-location business over a single wide area network, or WAN, but for multiple reasons, your company, Bandwave Systems has been brought in by MPLS carriers to augment and/or backup the MPLS solution they were selling a business.
Question #1: Why are MPLS carriers bringing Bandwave into their solutions?
TA: Well, I think one of the big reasons today is network redundancy, and coax cable is a diverse pathway to traditional Telecom infrastructure, so the Bandwave Cable -Connect product is a perfect fit for a redundant Internet connection.
The next reason Telecom Consultants and Carrier Sales Reps are coming to Bandwave is due to our experience. We've been in data aggregation since 2000. We were one of the first nationwide DSL aggregators. Today as a cable Internet provider or a cable aggregator, we have the experience, the relationships, and all the systems in place to provision and manage Nationwide Cable Internet Connections, Our main marketing message is one contract, one bill, one customer support, and we do that for Multi Site Enterprises using our partnership with all the cable providers Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, Cox, Brighhouse, RCN, Cablevision, Suddenlink, Mediacom (MSO’s).
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