The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/163881
3.Review Your Organization's Business Needs: While it's beneficial to understand the technologies available in the marketplace and the differences between the various carrier options, you must apply that knowledge in the context of your unique business needs and requirements. For example, a bank's requirements for security are very different from that of a retail chain or legal practice. Equally important is a strong understanding of your organization's requirements for uptime and redundancy, and tolerance for downtime. Those needs could be transitional, as the case would be during a specific or unique project; or they could be ongoing. Spend time outlining your organization's needs ahead of embarking on a sourcing exercise, and ensure throughout the sourcing process you are reviewing the various technologies and carrier options in the context of the business needs. 2. nderstand the Carrier Technologies: Network technologies are evolving U at record-breaking speeds. In order to invest in the right technology, scalable for an enterprise network infrastructure, it's important to understand the differences between the various technologies. For example, Ethernet comes in several flavors. Some, such as Ethernetover-copper, are cost-effective but have a limited footprint and are distancesensitive. Conversely, many tier one and tier two carriers have built their networks out and invested in "lighting up" strategic buildings with fiber to offer native Ethernet. This provides an alternative to the local exchange carrier (LEC) for the last mile, and while it can prove to be more expensive, it is not distancesensitive and can be essential for carrier redundancy and fault tolerance. Similarly, when considering a technology like enterprise SIP, only a few providers have invested in automated failover across multiple strategically deployed session border controllers to offer true network fault tolerance. Staying abreast of the latest technologies and how the carriers have deployed them is essential when considering your network architecture. Word of Caution: Many carriers' sales compensation plans are positioned to promote a specific technology, particularly if the carrier needs to recover its investment in such technology. It is incumbent upon the IT professional evaluating various solutions to ensure that whatever he or she is considering is not simply being presented to meet a specific quota. Ask the vendor for references and check with your peers to get feedback about a particular solution. 4.Negotiate Robust Contracts: While many organizations focus on obvious elements in contracts, such as doing away with an ever-green clause or ensuring the fairness of an assignment clause, there are other elements that often go unnoticed. An example of that is portability, which becomes essential when negotiating a multisite implementation, especially if the business is anticipating office moves. SLAs are also key elements of a contract. When dealing with a data service like MPLS or enterprise SIP for example, you must have a clear understanding of a provider's published SLAs for network availability, latency, jitter, packet loss and mean time to repair. Most carriers publish standard implementation intervals by service and service type; some will provide SLA credits for missing those published installation intervals. You also must have a fundamental understanding of miscellaneous charges Peer to Peer 19