BUSINESS PHONE NEWS

Business Continuity Solutions Overview: How to keep your business connected with advanced satellite technology

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email

When your business absolutely, positively has to be connected all the time - satellite offers "business connection protection" for disaster recovery.

 

The Importance of Connectivity

Business continuity is a vital arm of large and small businesses alike, assuring constant connectivity and resilience in today's increasingly digital world. Virtually every process of modern enterprise operations involve network interface, increasing productivity while also making the entire organization vulnerable to network disruption. Productivity, logistics, revenue and employee safety are significantly impacted when primary connectivity is down for even a short period.

While everyday factors such as human error and equipment failure cause the majority of minor disconnections, the constant threat from excavation incidents, acts of terrorism and increasingly occurring natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and fires can take networks down for extended periods of time.  Some of these risks could take your organization offline for only an hour, others for weeks, but in a competitive and highly-automated environment, even minutes of lost communication between company sites or processes can have significant results. In a recent internal study by Hewlett Packard, it was found that unexpected network downtime costs their organization approximately $900,000 per hour.

 

Download, Read or Listen to Our Whitepaper Interview with Garrett Hill

X2nSat is a business based in California that specializes in business continuity and disaster recovery solutions that utilize an affordable, business class satellite technology.

Click here to view and print a seven-page whitepaper interview I recently conducted with X2nSat CEO Garrett Hill.  In the whitepaper Mr. Hill provides a detailed overview for his business continuity and disaster recovery satellite solutions and provides a competitive comparison to related solutions.

Click the audio player below to listen to the interview now or download the MP3.

 

 

Does a Satellite-Based Business Continuity Solution Make Sense for Your Business? Call Us!

Long gone are the latency challenges that have previously prevented businesses from seriously considering satellite technology as the wireless data link they use to augment their wide area data network.

If you are currently considering 3G, 4G, LTE or WiMax wireless data as part of your business continuity or disaster recovery solutions, such as the one shown in the diagram below, please contact a recommended solution partner in your area to learn how a managed satellite solution from X2nSat can provide a 2 meg symmetrical wireless data connection that may be far superior and more economical.

 

 

Keywords: x2nsat, garrett hill, business continuity, satellite, whitepaper, disaster recovery, wireless data, 3g, 4g, lte, wimax, wide area data network.  Image: iStock

Ready for Usage-Based Broadband Billing? How Much Data Does Your Business Use Each Month?

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email 

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.

Both Verizon and AT&T are moving their smart phone customers to metered data models and residential cable companies are following suit according to this article.  

What's a small business owner to do?  

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. 

 

Download our Free 2013 Bandwidth Management Buyers Guide

Click here to download our free Bandwidth Management Buyer's Guide. Our guide is designed help you understand what questions to ask bandwidth management sales partners and vendors to ensure you're getting quoted the right design at the right price.

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.

How to Inexpensively Increase Internet Bandwidth by Bonding Low Cost Coax Cable and DSL Circuits

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email  

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.

Click here to download a PDF copy of the white paper created from this interview.

To listen to the interview, click here to download the MP3 recording.

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.   

How to Use Cable Aggregation as an Alternative or a Replacement for Your MPLS Network

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email  

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.

Click here to download a PDF copy of the white paper created from this interview.

To listen to the interview, click here to download the MP3 recording.

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. 

How many Hops is Too Many Hops? What to look for if latency is killing your global data applications...

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email  

"One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi..." nothing annoys your customers and employees more than waiting around after they hit the "enter key" on their computer or smartphone for your firm's computer applications to do what you said they would do (increase employee productivity, enhance customer service, reduce sales cycles, etc.)

Maybe your application is working right but your data network service provider is still trying to figure out how to best connect the application users and the application data.  According to NTT America, for some ISPs (Internet service providers), 20 or more hops from one data network to another around the globe are required to make the right connects to make your application work.

Since every extra hop your data packets have to endure in their travel increases latency (one Mississippi, two Mississippi), to figure out how to increase network performance one has to understand how autonomous system numbers (ASNs) work and how jumping from one to another increases latency.

Click here for a short 10-minute YouTube tutorial on ASNs. Click here for WikiPedia's spin on ASNs.

 

For Global Data Apps, a Global Single ASN Minimizes Latency (and Increases Happiness)

Just as a non-stop flight will get you from Los Angeles to New York faster than a flight that make multiple stops where you have to switch planes, so too does using a global single ASN network reduce the redundancy experienced by your data application users.

 If you're deploying a data application globally across such continents as North America, Europe, Asia and Australia you'll want to consider a global data network service provider like NTT Communications.

NTT Communications fully controls the collection of routers that make up our Global Single ASN. We have independent links to the other leading networks around the World. We use our network to get you connected and to keep your data streaming. 

Why is One Better?

According to NTT, of the 20,000 or so autonomous system numbers in use,  NTT has ONE, where other ISPs have many. That means that North America, Europe, Asia and Australia all connect across a single backbone. NTT's customers experience stellar performance no matter where they are. 

For some ISPs, data has to travel across multiple ASNs to arrive at its destination. Traveling across multiple ASNs can mean up to 20 hops. NTT claims they can do it in fewer than five. With strategically located exchange points around the world, you can get to ANY access point on NTT's global network in fewer than five hops. That's around the world (and back), smoothly, and with fewer delays. 

NTT specializes in access and connectivity. For VoIP, streaming media, database application 
and backup, NTT claims you'll experience a significant reduction in latency. Their single global ASN is available to all NTT customers, globally. Wherever you are, your data travels seamlessly across our network and around the world.

 

For more information about NTT's Global Single ASN Service

Click here to download NTT's Global Single ASN brochure

To find an authorized NTT channel partner contact:

  East Coast: Patrick Tutek, ptutek@us.ntt.net, 203-400-0653

  West Coast:  Matt Querze, mquerze@us.ntt.net, 425-615-2521 or 425-250-7054 

 

Keywords: latency, data network service provider, business application, isp, internet service provider, NTT America, NTT communications, data packets, hops, asn, autonomous system numbers, North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, single backbone, VoIP, streaming media, database application, backup

How to Use Coax Cable Aggregation to Backup or Augment Your MPLS Wide Area Network

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email  

 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.

Click here to download a PDF copy of the white paper created from this interview.

To listen to the interview, click here to download the MP3 recording.

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).

Solution Review: How Distributed Enterprise IT Directors Solve 3G/4G Fixed Wireless Connectivity Problems

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email

 What's an IT director for a quick service restaurant ("QSR") or similar distributed enterprise company to do when the wide area network ("WAN") solution he or she wants to implement using a low cost DSL landline solution can only reach 80% of the companies locations?

Throw a 3G cellular AirCard in a wireless router, right?  Wrong.

An aircard in a router is probably the best solution if the business location is actually a recreational vehicle - contantly on the move. AirCards are great for mobile wireless data needs be far from perfect in a fixed office environment.  So how does an IT director solve the 3G/4G connectivity problems when trying to implement a fixed wireless solution?

Call on Accel Networks, the wireless data company that "tunes in" your wireless data signals with their unique proprietary antennae like no other wireless or landline company can.

If you've tried fixed wireless using AirCards for your data network locations unreachable by DSL and couldn't solve the connectivity problem, don't give up without calling your authorized Accel Networks solution partner.

 

How and Why is Accel Networks Solution Better than Everyone Else?

How does Accel do it better than all their competitors including AT&T, Verizon and Sprint?

Listen to Jonathan Forest, VP of Accel networks explain it himself in the following short recorded interview.

 

Listen to Recording:  Click Here to Download MP3

 

 

Read Transcript:   Click Here to Download PDF

How Quick Service Restaurant & Other Distributed Enterprise IT Directors Solve 3G/4G Fixed Wireless Connectivity Problems:

Accel Network's New Cellular Broadband Antenna

February 2012A Business Phone News conversation with Jonathan Forest, Vice President of Accel Networks, about how their new Maestro cellular broadband antenna system is gaining traction with CIOs and IT directors of many quick service restaurant chains and other similar multi-location retail businesses.

 

  DB:  So let's get right to the problems that QSR (“quick service restaurant”) IT directors have. They want to power the broadband needs of their retail stores with affordable 3G or 4G fixed wireless, but they're getting killed by connectivity problems.   

Question #1.   Please describe the nature and prevalence of the connectivity problems.

  JF:   Yes.   Specifically we see in our market that broadband is certainly the desire of many of the QSR and retail customer since it's a lower cost option, and it really fits their needs; however, broadband, DSL and cable isn't really prevalent in all locations, and we see consistently approximately 10% to 20% of the market not being covered for these customers, and that's where we fit in. 

Accel provides a high-grade, premium wireless solution that provides broadband type of service at these 10% to 20% locations, and that's with 3G.

With 4G coming out, and we're launching that next month, 4G speeds will, in many ways, surpass DSL.   So, the 4G solution that customers will be experiencing will be right on par, or superior to what they are experiencing, and we fully expect the wireless services to continue expanding.

 

  DB:  Question #2.    Can you describe how does Accel's proprietary fixed wireless Maestro antenna address the problem? 

  JF:     Yes.   I would be glad to.  If you had to boil it down, Accel provides the cleanest wireless signal.  What does that mean?  What it really means is that we're trying to minimize the carrier noise, and optimize the signal.  The result is better performance.    

2:11  Accel comes from this perspective, the wireless perspective.    We do not come at this from a landline perspective.   This is crucial, and the reason is that in landline technologies, the transport, DSL, cable, T1, it's a commodity.  No matter whether provider A or provider B is offering the solution, the same result is going to happen.   DSL, the same distance from the CO (phone company “central office”), it's all the same, and with wireless it couldn't be any different. 

What are the Benefits of Connecting Your Business to "the Cloud"? How should you choose a business cloud consultant?

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email

In the 20+ years I've been helping business customers choose telecom and technology solutions I've never had a customer call and say, "I need some cloud" or "Connect me to the cloud" or simply, "Cloud me, baby!"

When I have suggested to clients that their next technology solution can be provided to them from "the cloud" though some have asked, "What the heck are you talking about!"

Following is the simplest answer that I've ever come up with for the question "what's the cloud?"

"The cloud is actually a windowless building someplace that's built for the comfort of computers instead of people. One of the comfortable computers in the cloud is the computer that makes the 'call waiting' feature on your phone work. The cloud can accommodate almost any business computer that can help your business do almost anything."

 

What Parts of Your Business Benefit from a "Cloud Connection"?

Maybe some, maybe none, maybe all.  The decision really boils down to your your thoughts as a business owner around "convenience, cost and security".

Convenience - Can you conveniently access your business email account from any computer or

Looking for Multi-Location Broadband Solutions? Need to Integrate Multiple Broadband Networks? We Do that!

By Tom Azelby, Guest Blogger 
888-396-7182 email

Bandwave Systems held its first “Breakfast Brainstorm” event that brought together independent broadband solution partners and telecom agents to discuss successful multiple location, broadband service initiatives that Bandwave has recently managed.

Held at the Riverton Country Club, Cinnaminson, NJ, guest speaker Tom McGinnis, Philadelphia 76ers basketball radio announcer, kicked off the event that focused on highlighting real-world client solutions that benefited from implementing Bandwave’s broadband technology solutions and hosted VOIP services.

 “I thought that the Bandwave event was very well attended by their agents who are interested in how new technologies can help their customers,” said Jonathan Forest, vice president of business development, Accel Networks. “Bandwave certainly has a strong agent program focusing on different customer segments.  Accel is pleased to have its highly differentiated

What To Do When the Public Internet Fails? Put Your Business on a Metro Ethernet or MPLS Private Network

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email

This past week it was reported that business customers around the globe suffered unexpected network service outages when two of the largest public Internet provers, Level3 and Time Warner, encountered routing problems with their Juniper Network hardware devices.

The outage only appeared to last for less than an hour but millions were affected in the United States and Europe.

 

Problems for Multi-Location Businesses

The public Internet being down for an hour or a day is certainly problematic for any business that relies on access to public business solutions like SalesForce or similar services.

Public Internet outages are doubly problematic though for multi-location businesses that use the public internet to connect their