Get a better deal without changing providers

You know you could be saving money on your Telecom/Internet bill but you dread getting involved in that whole process? Let's examine:

First you will have to contact other providers. That means dealing with people who are trying to sell you something. This is at best, unpleasant for most people. They will want all your contact information, and you know they are going to start "bugging" you at some point or other.
Then you have to assemble your bills.

How many lines do you HAVE anyway?

What is your bandwidth? Is it the same up as it is down? Does it matter?

Do you have "direct inward dial"? How many numbers?

Are lines the same as number? What is a "trunk"?

But there might be an easier way: Contact your current provider. Here are some questions to ask THEM:

• What is the term of my service? Is there a contract? Or am I being billed "month-to-month"?
• Can you tell if there is traffic on ALL of my voice lines? If so, can you furnish a report? Are there any lines with NO traffic at all for an extended period?
• What current promotions are there that are a fit for my configuration?
• How can I save on my bill?
• What is the bandwidth that I am paying for on my Internet access? How can I test that to make sure I am getting what I am paying for?

If you haven't made changes to your service in several years, you are most likely in one of 2 scenarios:

1. Your contract has expired, and you are being billed "month-to-month". This is good and bad. Good because you are free to make a change without the threat of Early Termination Fees, and Bad because you have most likely been over paying for a while.
2. You are under a contract that has an automatic renewal and are now subject to ETF's for however long remains on the contract. You have to do some due diligence here and find out exactly what conditions have to be met to cancel the contract (if you decide to change carriers). Typically this means sending written notice at least thirty days prior to expiration anniversary.

Very often your current carrier is willing to make a better deal on the spot because they know you are looking and they want to keep you as a customer. BUT THEY WILL NOT TELL YOU ABOUT THESE DEALS UNLESS YOU ASK!!

For more info feel free to contact me:
Steve Melillo
201-596-4000, x103
or visit our web page: LineSpeed LLC

Cloud Migration: Building The Path

As you migrate applications and storage to the Cloud, you also increase your dependence on bandwidth capacity as well as availability. Your Path to the Cloud is as mission critical as the applications and data that reside there. Here are some important steps to consider:

1. Review and assess your current internet circuit(s) for through-put, "actual" speeds, history of availability, contract terms, SLA's and active management and monitoring.
2. Determine the maximum number of simultaneous users and obtain guidelines from your "as a service" providers to help with estimated bandwidth requirements. This is especially important for any voice applications such as Hosted PBX and SIP Trunks. Then give yourself a 20% buffer for spikes and modest growth.
3. Closely examine the capabilities of your existing network equipment and firmware revision levels. What is the capacity of your network infrastructure as it exists today? How many circuits can you interface with? What types of signaling are compatible? What are the upgrade costs?
4. Incorporate some redundancy. Circuits go down, and sometimes they take hours (days?!) to be restored. This does not have to be a bullet-proof plan (in most cases) that provides the same level of service and through-put as the primary circuit, but there needs to be some type of failover or people will not be able to work effectively during service interruptions. A dual purpose of this secondary circuit could be for your guest WiFi.
5. Meet with your current carrier(s) to review your current plan and find out what options are available. What services do they have that allow you to increase bandwidth incrementally as demand increases? Do they have a failover plan on separate facilities? Find out what your options are within your current contract terms. You might not have to reinvent the wheel.
6. Monitor usage on a regular basis and stay ahead. Bandwidth creep can be insidious, and go unnoticed until you hit a tipping point when users suddenly realize response rates have become tedious and frustration levels rise. Trying to implement a solution from scratch at this point could take weeks. Have a plan.

Dependence on Cloud applications and storage will most likely increase for most organizations. Make sure you have a robust Path to get there.

Steve Melillo
201-596-4000, x103

LineSpeed LLC LineSpeed LLC

smelillo@inclink.net

Circuit Redundancy: Don't wait for an outage

Your organization relies on stable internet access more than ever. Losing your internet connection means losing access to Cloud Apps and that means lost productivity, lost CRM continuity and potentially lost business. All it takes it one major service outage to drive this point home, but leaving your organization exposed for any length of time is a bad idea.

Loss of internet access is no longer just an inconvenience. It will cripple productivity and frustrate your customers as well as employees. Don't wait until there is an angry mob at your door with pitch forks and torches. Plan for service interruptions and failure NOW.

For small organizations, this can be as simple as adding a Cable TV circuit which will often include a wireless router.Reserve this internet access as a "guest" wifi network, so visitors to your office can have an easy to connect without introducing additional traffic to your primary network. Then if your primary circuit does go out, users can jump on the "guest" network and at least get some work done until the primary circuit is restored.

Automated failover to redundant circuits is more appropriate for larger organizations, but can be tricky to configure, and may also require additional equipment and/or licensing depending on the network architecture. However, the seamless continuity provided will make your users blissfully ignorant to downed primary cricuits.

Have a conversation with your trusted tech advisor to discuss this topic in more detail, but do not wait until you have an access crisis on your hands. Outages often have poor timing with respect to your deadlines and workflow.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

LineSpeed LLC
201-596-4000, x103