Telcove Experience: Ethernet Offering?

[sirslacker]

We are investigating new means to network our other offices in the same city. We will be moving to VOIP to connect these offices to our primary.

Telcove has just released a commercial ethernet platform for transport. It's a Sonet TDM with ethernet handoff at our site which, based on their pricing, is significantly less than other point to point TDM pricing we've gotten. The vendor indicates they have Qos and complete ownership of the lines with no third parties. Anyone have any experience with this or with Telcove?

 

[GoTellBigDaddy]

Yes- not with Telcove.

Managed network is a good thing with tradeoffs.

GOODS

* Carrier provides end-to-end service and MSLs, responsiblities usually include Firewalls at all sites, hardware and management of hardware

* Simplicity - keeps the hardware geeks that really don't know everything at bay. Local vs real Network staff resources are better utilized.

* Costs - in the overall scehme of things- it's not always about saving money. Do more for less ? Yes.

* Quality - you mentioned the big one: QoS. Why isn't QoS deployed already on every network ? Two reasons: Cost and It's too complicated.


NEGATIVES

* Span of Control - as with everything, you relinquish a degree of control

* Competitiveness - if Telcove is the ONLY carrier offering managed services for your needs you may want to look a little harder. It's always good to have a competitive VIEW when you are giving a major piece of the pie to a vendor

* VoIP / IP-PBXs - soundz as if you maybe getting into this area and with a MANAGED network- your chances for success just went up exponentially.

INFO

* Get it in writing

* Once you have it in writing - ASK questions

* Deploy SLOWLY - don't go head over heals. If Telcove or anyone else decides to bail or do the flip-flop thing, then you have minimzed your losses. So- HAVE A PLAN.

 

[Ghostin]

why not VPN?

 

[GoTellBigDaddy]

VPN is something anyone can setup.

Okay- so what ?

Small business - even Medium scaled organization use their own VPN. Basically...the same "management" principles apply to VPNs. When you get into the VoIP aspect of the VPNs and you are self managed- well then have fun. Let the NETWORK do the job...in this case a managed solution.

Managed (outsourced) or Not Managed (internally setup and created).

BIG difference is "maintaining acceptable levels of service and security" and at what costs (all resources to do so).

Trade-offs are basically the same too.

The nice thing about solutions offered (Telcove) is the security aspect from their edge to you includes or should include... is a nice security setup holistically nailing the network down for your company to use effectivley.

Just to add - this is my opinion. As a Manager- where do I deploy my resources and when and of course why ? VPNs in this dicussion wasn't meant to be discluded. As "convergence" evolves and it will rapidly, the today weak and stodgy old telecom carriers HOPEFULLY will be viable and you will see benefits to mangaing your Network by utilizing Managed Carrier Services. For example the SANS ability to store critical info in the network- is it a good idea ? HOTSITE made cheap ? Then consider the growing trend of SOFTWARE VULNERABILITIES and how they are "predicted" to cause more downtime in the next four (4) years by triple digit risk ! (ref: John Pescatore, VP and Research Fellow at Gartner Group)

Finally- forget IT and all the tecky-tecky issues for a moment and think like the business owner or the CEO sitting at the top of the food chain. What can I/we do to better utilitze our resources ? What's our business ? What are we GOOD at doing ? Now add back in the IT concerns and IT potential of what is shaping in the new IP world of converegence.

Either you're scared too stiff to act, back to where you started, or have a better appreciation of what's to come.

Yes- I thinks it's very viable for carriers to offer the Managed VPNs and of course they do.