Building a Robust Global Enterprise Network: Key Strategies and Best Practices

Organizations selling products and services internationally navigate an abundance of complex challenges along their path to global success. Most corporate decision-makers understand the value of using effective platforms to bridge the vast physical distances between their workers, suppliers, and customers. And businesses that recognize the value of streamlining their communication and collaboration solutions invest in the services of enterprise network providers to tackle those challenges.

Building a robust global enterprise network capable of delivering end-to-end service across disparate geographic locations is no simple task. The rapid growth of the cloud-hosted telecom market has thrown an entirely new set of variables into the equation. Enterprises must choose a business communication provider that leverages key global network strategies and best practices rather than emerging providers who offer short-term fixes. It’s a business imperative.

The best global enterprise networks are committed to providing cutting-edge voice solutions inspired by the latest industry-driven advancements to ensure they’re well-prepared to meet their clients’ current and future needs.

The Advantages of Investing in a Global Enterprise Network

National enterprise communication networks operate within a specific country or geographic region. Many networks leverage relationships with service providers in other countries to connect international calls. However, regional telecom companies and ISPs tend to cater to the needs of business locations with similar regulatory requirements, consumer expectations, and cultural nuances. The needs of organizations operating their businesses across multiple countries and regions are far more complex.

Global enterprise networks offer a robust infrastructure capable of supporting a large number of users. Although there are many standard communication protocols used globally, their system must be flexible enough to also accommodate the communication protocols specific to various countries and regions. This includes the rules governing how hardware and software transmit information. The best network providers drive efficiency and provide enhanced security while reducing the overall cost of business communication as their clients expand into new regions and countries.

Choosing the Best Global Enterprise Network for Your Organization

Enterprise networks are known for bringing modern business communication essentials, including voice, video collaboration, and software solutions, to a single, cost-effective, user-friendly interface. 

Network providers help corporate decision-makers choose the ideal stack of customizable solutions for their businesses. Subscribers have the freedom to add or remove services and active users as needed while reducing or eliminating the expense of managing and maintaining an on-premise private branch exchange (PBX).

Related: Unlocking Efficiency: The Power of Enterprise Voice Solutions

Without the right provider, the advantages could easily fall short of your expectations. The best global enterprise networks champion innovations that deliver efficient, effective communication solutions while tailoring their technologies to accommodate the needs of numerous industries. As you’re comparing service providers with a global reach, consider how the following strategies and best practices help ensure efficient, effective communication and network reliability.

Developing Advanced, Cutting-Edge Voice Solutions

As the demand for omnichannel communication increases, as well as the utilization of voice, video, and data, business owners and IT decision-makers recognize the futility of managing, maintaining, and repairing aging legacy telephone technology. Instead, they’re using the latest advances in session-initiated protocols (SIP) and voice over internet protocols (VoIP) to convert and transmit voice signals over the internet.

Since cloud-hosted communication solutions require no physical infrastructure, business owners have the option of severing their ties with local phone service providers, maintaining relationships where they’re the most advantageous, or working within a hybrid system. 

The most robust global enterprise networks fortify the advantages of their cloud-hosted services with the power of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), two related but distinctly different technologies.

• Machine learning uses complex algorithms to extrapolate data and improve network performance autonomously as needed.
• AI is a form of machine learning most often used to convert speech to text, translate conversations between multiple languages, and create chatbots capable of mimicking conversational speech.

Utilizing Advanced Data Transmission Technology

There’s no denying the global embrace of today’s multi-channel digital landscape. Yet, a considerable number of companies communicating across multiple geographic locations still rely on a complex physical infrastructure managed by their carrier networks. The technology used in these instances supports internet connectivity between two fixed locations.

The wide area networks (WANs) transmitting information between local area networks (LANs) have become faster and more flexible over the years with the implementation of multi-protocol label switching (MPLS). But when private WANs or MPLS circuits fail, a company’s entire communication network can shut down.

Robust networks prioritizing reliability and system security over multiple geographic networks recommend utilizing software-defined wide-area networks (SD-WAN). This type of technology fully supports multiple connection types simultaneously as determined by an application’s service level agreements (SLAs), quality of service (QoS) settings, and priority policies. 

When issues are detected on one circuit, timing-sensitive transmissions are routed to another, ensuring reliability and business continuity.

Providing Fully Managed Communication Solutions

With the continual move toward omnichannel support, business leaders across multiple industries are easing or eliminating the burden on their IT departments by choosing managed service providers (MSPs) to monitor and maintain their communication technologies. 

With the most robust global enterprise communication providers, your company can choose from several service options. Consider gaining access to fully managed network services complete with automated notification features, professional remediation, and proactive on-site field services.

Related: Optimizing Cost Control: Strategies for Technology Expense Management

Although the type of managed solutions can vary from one entity to the next, most provide enhanced network security while optimizing the performance of everything from your business phone systems to third-party circuits and applications. With the right provider, you could also have the option of investing in technology expense management.

These managed services are currently offered by a relatively small number of MSPs. Technology expense management software is typically designed to automate billing verification, manage payments, identify discrepancies, and compare business expenses to market averages. Many organizations find the service reduces their IT costs by up to 20%.

Leveraging Strategic Investments and Expansions

Innovative business communication providers focused on building a robust global enterprise place great importance on their network’s ability to provide for their subscribers’ current and future needs. Not only do top-tier providers continuously monitor the landscape for opportunities to develop new technologies, but they’re also known for investing in strategic partnerships and acquisitions to expand their global presence.

They utilize their resources to augment the features of some of today’s most in-demand communication and collaboration platforms. For example, the acquisition of U.K.-based voice provider Pure IP expanded an already comprehensive portfolio to serve global clients’ communication needs by integrating enterprise-level voice solutions into Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom, platforms with an impressive global footprint of their own.

This single acquisition also expanded the network’s ability to provide fully compliant public switched telephone network (PSTN) replacement services in 47 countries, 24/7 follow-the-sun international (multilingual) support, and phone number availability within 137 countries.   

Discover How the Services of a Robust Global Enterprise Network Could Benefit Your Organization

Now that you know what goes into building a robust global enterprise network, consider some of the many ways your organization could benefit. Although every company is unique, the following examples illustrate a number of advantages.  

Case Study #1: Benefits for a Company with 170+ Global Subsidiaries

A large technology company with more than 170 global subsidiaries was feeling the strain of having each location manage its IT network independently. Not only did the arrangement make it nearly impossible for the parent company to contract services and manage their communication costs, but their local teams were devoting a lot of time to carrier management and service issues.

Today, that multinational company has an MSP providing 24/7 system monitoring and circuit management. Instead of navigating the services of 20+ carriers, the organization now gets white-glove treatment from a single point of contact, and their communication expenses are more predictable.

Case Study #2: Advantages for a Firm with Offices in 16 Countries

In a similar case study, a leading global investment firm with offices in 16 countries discovered they were being overcharged for communication services—by more than $300,000 over several years. The organization was also looking to improve business efficiency, scale its costs, and improve its network design to accommodate evolving technologies.

Their global enterprise network provider was able to come to the rescue, thanks to their forensic accountants and proprietary software. The investment firm was able to repair carrier and supplier relationships, both abroad and in the U.S., and receive credit for overpayment, avoiding costly litigation. Their network provider also helped the firm identify the best combination of enterprise solutions for their business and recently expanded their cybersecurity protection.

Apply Key Strategies and Best Practices to Your Global Enterprise

Multinational organizations face numerous challenges unique to their global endeavors. By carefully following key strategies, implementing best practices, and leveraging the help of a leading MSP, you can break through nearly any barrier. To learn more about some of the many ways forward-thinking enterprises are shaping their communication infrastructure with a seamless and dependable global network, visit BCM One.

At BCM One, we’re committed to providing a world-class experience with every human interaction. Contact us to explore the benefits of supporting your international business by investing in the best combination of customizable communication solutions.