Take the time to understand your businesses network needs

Each and every business faces a unique set of global networking challenges. Attempting to shoe-horn a company into a solution based on what has worked for other companies rarely succeeds. Your competitor may just have migrated to a fully outsourced IP Virtual Private Network (IP VPN) but this does not necessarily mean this is the best technology choice for your business.

The key to a successful network implementation is in your understanding.

This means understanding the key issues faced by your business, understanding the needs of each of the sites that will form part of the network and also understanding how your business, and therefore your network, will grow and change over the coming years.

From this position a business can powerfully assess the global networking technologies that are available and select a solution that works. Telstra International offers two global solutions - Global Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) and Global IP VPN. Each of these offers a flexible range of attributes designed to meet different business needs.

To illustrate how these technologies can be deployed to support different network profiles we can look at three scenarios.  Each of these demonstrate how understanding business needs drives the decision making process. These scenarios demonstrate a selection of benefits and are in no way an exhaustive explanation of how Telstra’s global networking technologies can enable your business.  

Company A – Company A is a financial services organisation headquartered in Singapore. With over 40 locations worldwide the company needs a network it can rely on. Large volumes of highly sensitive customer and transactional data are sent between sites on a daily basis.

Company A has clear requirements. When considering a new network meeting regulatory compliance standards is the number one priority. This business is obliged to demonstrate that they have control of security and routing.  Company A therefore places a high value on having an in-house team to maintain and manage the network. 

As a layer 2 service Telstra’s Global Virtual Private LAN service (VPLS) meets the needs of this business. Global VPLS allows the customer to keep full control of the IP routing and configuration.  In addition the customer can establish closed user groups creating ‘virtual walls’ between business units. This feature can be put to use in an environment where, for example, retail and wholesale departments have to be kept separate. Global VPLS should allow Company A to meet mandated security standards with confidence; however its value to the organisation does not stop there.  Cost efficiencies can be realised as Global VPLS uses a meshed network infrastructure. In addition the resilience of the service ensures a high level of fault tolerance – making this an ideal solution for Company A.  

Company B – Company B is a high growth global consultancy firm that is expanding into new markets.  Originating in New York this company has 500 staff spread across 52 sites in America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Company B also has aggressive expansion plans meaning that new sites are regularly being added.  

Managing a network is not within Company B’s core skill set.  While it has a need for a high performance network that can be relied upon, this business sees outsourcing non-core tasks as essential to allowing the business to focus on revenue generating activities. The flexible nature of its business model also creates a need to add and remove network sites at short notice.

Given these needs, Telstra International’s Global IP VPN solution supports Company B in meeting its needs. Telstra’s Global IP VPN is a fully managed service, meaning that Company B can select an option to have Telstra manage the CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) down to the level of configuring the software as well as selecting best access technology for Company B’s sites. Like Global VPLS, IP VPN offers six classes of service allowing Company B to define the criticality of traffic then leave Telstra to manage the network while Company B gets on with meeting its clients’ needs.

Company C Company C started off as a small Australian retail company. As the business grew it expanded into Asia and  Europe.  With each store sending large volumes of data to the head office at different times of the day Company C needs a network that services fluctuating demands. Company C uses cutting edge applications to manage its stock, sales data and supply chain.  

Company C has mixed requirements. Certain sites, such as its data centres and head office, prioritise high levels of security and the need to scale up bandwidth.  Flexibility is essential to other non-core sites, they need to be added to the network with speed and be able to send large volumes of data traffic at specific times of the day. Telstra is rapidly moving towards a solution that can support his varied profile - an interwoven solution combining Global VPLS for the core sites with Global IP VPN for the outlying branch offices.  

In global networking there is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

Modern networking technology means that bespoke solutions can be shaped around the individual needs of a business, paying huge dividends for your business. Working with a supplier such as Telstra International means that your business can implement a solution that works for your business needs both now and in the future.

Our Global Networking roadmap is comprehensive. Not only is Telstra expanding coverage, working towards additional certification and offering enhanced reporting, but we are also considering issues such as the hybrid approach to combining VPLS and IP VPN to ensure we can meet business needs – both now and in the future.

Don’t just take our word for it…

As part of the global launch of our Ethernet solutions, Telstra International held a series of briefings with analysts from Gartner, Forrester, IDC, Current Analysis, Ovum and Telegeography. If you’d like to read through the Current Analysis report ‘Telstra International Embellishes Its International Ethernet Range, Moving Ahead of Several European Carriers’ please contact your local Telstra marketing team.

Contact a Telstra specialist

Call 0800 856 2120

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