Happy New Year from Cottonwood Communications!

We hope that you and your family enjoyed the holidays and have set some new goals for 2011.  We believe, along with many of our peers and business partners that 2011 will be a strong recovery year for the United States.  Attitudes are changing, and many seem to be going into the year with chins held high, ready for new challenges and desires to improve ourselves and our businesses.

One thing that should be at the top of your “to-do” list this year should be evaluating your overall IT and Telecom strategy.  Here are 6 ideas to consider as a start to determine what areas of your business you should work on first:

1.)   Your Wide Area Network or WAN.  Are you currently using the right technology for this?  Is your bandwidth to each end point large enough?  Do you need Quality of Service or QoS to make sure that voice is prioritized over your network?  In evaluating your WAN, make sure you are working with a partner that can support you with multiple carrier offerings, and assist you in evaluating the different technologies available.

2.)   Is your Internet connection large enough to handle and support the applications your leadership team is encouraging throughout your organization?  Our team constantly runs across business customers that are using connections that are 1/2 or in some cases 1/4 of what they should be based upon the daily applications and business tools that customers are accessing.  If your employees are waiting around for things to load, it makes sense that this is causing reduced efficiencies and loss of productivity in your workforce.  Instead of bonding T’s, take a look at Ethernet – if it’s not available on fiber, many of the carriers can offer 10 or 20 Mb over a copper connection.

3.)   Is your phone system giving you all of the functionality that your organization needs?  Have you evaluated how Unified Communications or UC would impact your employee’s ability to communicate both internally and with your customer/constituent base?  Is an IP system necessary?  Should you consider a hosted solution, or do you want to manage and touch your own gear in your own data center?  With 100+ stores nationwide what advantages are there in having a VoIP capable system?

4.)   Do you have a “cloud” strategy for the future?  Are there applications now managed by your team that could be dished off to a third party to manage that would allow you to focus on your core offerings and save you money?  More and more of our customers are implementing cloud solutions (SaaS or IaaS) to assist in minimizing future IT costs.  There is still much confusion around cloud computing, but much of the discombobulating is beginning to go away and the message seems to be getting more and more clear. 

5.)   Are you still paying retail for your POTS (analog phone lines) service?  If you have 15 or more of these you should be pushing your carrier for a discount plan.  Qwest (soon to be CenturyLink) offers their QLVP plan which offers discounts up to 30% off the standard tariff rate (10  line minimum).  If you’re not asking your carrier about this, you’re leaving money on the table.  If your carrier won’t offer this, there are usually many alternatives to using analog lines.  Have you considered an Integrated T-1 as an alternative for your offices that have POTs and DSL/Cable Internet connections?

6.)   If you’re paying more than 6 cents per minute for your toll free or outbound long distance service you’re getting robbed.  My partners and I constantly run into clients who are paying upwards of $0.15 to $0.50 per minute for their 1+ and toll free (800 number) calls.  STOP and  look at your most recent invoice so that you know what you’re paying for each call. 

If you need help with any of these items above, get with a carrier agnostic consultant or agency for help in evaluating your options.  Many of these individuals will charge you nothing for their expertise – they are compensated directly by the carriers that they have relationships with once they place you into a new service.  If you’re working with one carrier you are most likley not getting the most complete picture.

We wish you and your families the best in 2011! 

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* SIP Trunking – what is it and who can help provide answers?

* Carrier Agnostic Telecommunication Agencies – what advantages are there for working with these guys over going directly to the carrier rep?

* The Missing Link – if you don’t want a T-1, but need more than a DSL, what are your options?

* Get a telecom Tune-up. When is the last time you evaluated your voice and data network?

* Why is TW Telecom worth a look?  Ethernet deals galore….check up for newest offerings.

* Internet Access – Have you been looking to increase your bandwidth?

* Thoughts on WAN – Have you been considering an MPLS or ethernet solution for your office to office connections?

* How can you find the best carrier to work with? Is AT&T, Qwest, and Level 3 the best choice for you or is a solution from XO Communications, Comcast, Integra, Paetec or Telesphere a better option?

* VoIP – Integrated T-1 Service – Is this for your company and which is the best carrier to go to for this service?

* Classics – analog lines, and conference calling – Every company needs at least one POTs line for their alarm line.  When’s the last time you used or priced conference calling?  There are many options for both of these classic offerings.

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As a WAN technology it seems that the curtains are beginning to close on frame relay.

Qwest Communications recently eliminated it’s promotions on this technology – making the cost of frame relay almost cost prohibitive for customers.  Today you can get an MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) T-1 with a new programmed Adtran router, installed (or delivered to you for a self – plug and play install at the very least)  for about the same price as you can get a frame relay T-1 (no router).  This was bound to happen, as many companies have already migrated their frame relay networks over to the newer MPLS networks over the last 4-5 years. 

With many now using IP PBX phone systems the requirement of a packet switched network with prioritized label capabilities has been essential to running voice as an application on the network.  There are many providers of IP PBX solutions, here’s one I like in the Rocky Mt. Region.  Another option is to look at a hosted IP PBX from Teleshere.  For those of you that read the first sentence in this paragraph and shook your head, it’s OK – it’s taken me 20+ years to grasp some of this stuff.  If you ever want to have fun take a look at all of the crazy terms in Newton’s Telecom Dictionary.  All the acronyms will make your head spin.  The telecommunications and IT industry are number one when it comes to acronym use – it’s really another language.

If you have a frame relay network it might be time to analyze and compare cost.  It’s been my experience that when older technology begins to die, the support for those technologies dies with it.  It’s no fun to be caught with an old network that’s not working – then when you need support the one person that gets it is on vacation.  Get with a good carrier agnostic agency and begin the process to migrate away from Frame Relay - now’s the time!

Wide Area Networks or WANs come in many different colors.

If you do a Google search for WAN the first recommendation that they give you is Wanda Sykes, or Wanda Syke’s wife.  If you’ve never seen or heard a comedy bit from her, it’s worth while – she is very funny!  I just found out that there is also a World Association of Newspapers or WAN that was founded in 1948.  Wikipedia says “that this WAN is a non-profit, non-governmental organization made up of 76 national newspaper associations, 12 news agencies, 10 regional press organizations and individual newspaper executives in 100 countries”.  Now I’m thinking back to the many cocktail parties and networking functions that I’ve attended over the last 20 years wondering if any of the individuals I met thought that I was in that association.  My normal explanation of what I did might have included helping customers with their WANs.  I’ll have to be careful next time!

Wide Area Networks of WANs in our world is more commonly mentioned as the way in which companies connect their different offices, or LANs (Local Area Networks).  Frame Relay was the first widely used, cloud based technology for WAN.  I’m surprised when I come across customers that are still using this, but in some more remote areas it is still the best cost option for transmitting data back and forth.

On a local level many have gone to T-1 point to points.  If the majority of your branches, stores or facilities are within the same LATA, this is the most cost efficient way to run your WAN.  If you need more bandwidth you can double or triple your bandwidth by bonding T-1s with the use of your routers to get 3.0 or 4.5 Mb between locations.  The LECs (Local Exchange Carriers – Qwest, AT&T, Verizon) have made the cost for point to point T-1s so attractive that this is what many customers end up doing.

If your locations are more geographically dispersed and spread out over a larger area, say in 2 or 50 states, you might entertain an MPLS T-1 WAN.  MPLS, of multi protocol label switching is a way to prioritize traffic.  If you want to run voice over your WAN having an MPLS network is critical.  Many businesses today want all of their offices to get dial tone and voice mail access off the main PBX – these customers are having dynamic discussions about their WAN and their WAN operability.  If things aren’t set up properly on the front end, nothing will work correctly.

Within the last 4-5 years the new game for WAN is ethernet.  Without a doubt this is the best way to establish a WAN if you can make it work in your budget.  Qwest Metro Optical Ethernet product has had huge success.  With this offering you can connect your offices nationwide via ports that range from 5 Mb all the way up to 1 Gb (or 1,000 Mb).  The beauty of ethernet is that you’re not putting the burden on the routers like you would if you bonded T’s.  If you’re looking for screaming Internet access check out ELA or Ethernet Lan Access – this is Internet over the QMOE network.  For all things Internet check out my posting from last week.

Both Verizon and AT&T have similar ethernet offerings to Qwest in their respective regions, but carriers like TW Telecom, XO, Integra, and Paetec are beginning to come to life with their EoC or Ethernet over copper products.  If your company is a bit more cost conscious you may want to check out these offerings.  I’ve found a great deal of competence with this technology at the Tier II level.

I have a feeling that ethernet will be the dominant WAN for a great many years to come.  With offerings up to 1 GB on fiber provisions it’s difficult to see what applications will eat into that large bandwidth.  But as time has shown, we’ll create apps that will eat it all up (eventually).

I get sincere, WOW excitement when my customers say “yes – we’re ready to go with that” – whether that product is a regular old DSL line, a 30 Mb ethernet pipe to the Internet, or a 40 locations MPLS WAN solution, there is genuine excitement that we can implement new toys/CPE and a technology that’s going to make this company or County work better, faster, smoother than it did before. 

We also get to work with some really smart people in technology.  Su Hawk is one of those people that I get to work around from time to time.  The things she’s done for Colorado technology are awesome!  If you’re in the technology and telecom world and your not part of CSIA, you need to be.  In the last year I’ve had the pleasure to work with Laura Luchini, and Bill Nixon, both are experts in their fields.  Eric Schulz and Matt Otis are a few other guys I know that are really sharp – they were doing things with their business long before anyone else in telecom.  Their success with Allied is awesome.  Qwest Engineers like Bob Steurer, Tom Rossignol, and Renee Carroll at Paetec embody the knowledge and upbeat attitude that keeps technology moving forward. 

I get up every day with an extra hop in my step because of what we do, and the industry that we work in.

1.)  When choosing a voice T-1 what are the advantages of a PRI over an advanced or basic DSS T-1?

2.)  Why would a company implement a WAN using MPLS when they want to install an IP/PBX at all of their branches?

3.)  How would SIP trunking (SIP service) help me expand my business?

4.)   Is wireless Internet better than a land based MOE Internet connection?  What are the advantages of each?

5.)  What are the best strategies for implementing account codes on my long distance account?

6.)  Many carriers offer Integrated VoIP  T-1s – what is the fewest number of lines that a small business owner can get with a single dynamic T-1?

7.)  What does DID stand for as it relates to a voice T-1?

8.)  How many layers are there in the OSI Reference Model?

9.)  Which country has the best average Internet connectivity speeds?

10.)  What is the difference between a /30 and a /24?

Please respond and let me know how many you were able to answer comfortably.  The next posting will have answers to all of these.