Managed Connectivity: Future-Proof Your Enterprise Network

How we do business today is vastly different than even a decade ago. Many companies very recently experienced a paradigm shift in how they operate when business as usual was no longer possible. Connectivity, both in the technical and interpersonal sense, has become a crucial element of successful companies.

Managed connectivity is a critical foundation for a thriving network, keeping employees connected to the people, tools, and resources they need to do their jobs while facilitating the development of successful relationships with each other and their clients. This has become increasingly vital with the emergence of even more global companies and domestic businesses with multisite locations.

Modern operations bring products and services to consumers the world over, giving more availability and access to people in smaller towns or remote areas. However, managing all the network, hardware, and software necessary for enabling this type of business is a huge undertaking. Managed connectivity gives companies what they need to operate without the hassle of managing it in-house.

What Is Managed Connectivity?

Managed connectivity refers to a service where a third-party provider oversees and manages an organization’s network connections and related services. The provider ensures that the enterprise network has stable and secure connections, optimizes network performance, and provides necessary hardware and software solutions.

The goal of managed connectivity is to offer businesses a hassle-free way to maintain high-quality, secure network connections without the need for in-house management. It allows companies to focus on their core operations while benefiting from expert management of their network infrastructure.

This is of particular value and interest to multi-site and global companies. Rather than spending time and money for staff to monitor and manage multiple networks across locations, your managed service provider (MSP) has the tools, technical expertise, and experience to not only keep your sites functioning but to optimize them.

They monitor and take proactive measures to identify outages or underperforming connections and develop a plan for business continuity in the event of business disruption or disaster. All of this is handled for you with the added benefit of consolidated billing.

Global Enterprise Voice + Managed Connectivity

Though we now have many ways to convey our thoughts and deliver messages, voice remains the cornerstone of communication. Verbal conversation can prevent or reduce misunderstanding and impart interest, concern, or empathy often more effectively than words typed on a screen, as well as encourage further dialogue.

Businesses need flexible voice communication solutions that work regardless of where their employees or customers are. That is where global enterprise voice comes in.

Related: What are Managed Communications Services?

Enterprise voice is much more than a legacy or VoIP telephone system. It is a group of interrelated and complementary solutions that are powered by the internet and delivered through cloud technology. It is the backbone of modern customer service and call centers. Capabilities can range from a simple voice call to audio and video conferencing, call routing, visual voice, and three-way calling.

So, how are real-life companies adopting these services, and what benefits are they realizing?

Updating Network Infrastructure To Meet Growing Demands

Take a look at a scenario from the perspective of a yacht cruise and events business. Multiple internet and multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) providers across 20 locations were not working. Scaling and meeting the demand for reliable and fast network connectivity was becoming a time-consuming drain on resources. Company leaders wanted a better solution from a single provider. They chose a provider that identified the problems and began designing, implementing, and managing the solution.

The first step was redundant connectivity across all sites that included not only primary fiber connection but secondary options like cable, wireless, and 4G, and 5G LTE for remote sites like ticketing offices on a pier where maintaining connectivity was challenging. The project manager handled implementation questions and issues swiftly, identifying alternatives when internet providers could not meet the requested bandwidth.

With the new managed connectivity solution, over-taxed resources were freed up, the company doubled their locations through an acquisition, easily integrating them into the new infrastructure, and now they are looking forward to upgrading their enterprise voice solution.

Managed Connectivity for a New Hospital

A healthcare system in the Southwestern U.S. was building a new facility and had several critical requirements that had to be in place in a very limited timeframe. They needed carrier diversity and redundancy for high availability, and the ability to gracefully handle high-volume data and voice traffic. The new data and voice circuits had to have dual failover capacity, both at the facility and the healthcare system data center. The solution was to implement Managed Connectivity and Managed SIP.

The final solution had not only carrier diversity using an existing data center connection as a backup, but it also had two session border controllers (SBCs) at the hospital and one at the data center to provide multiple failover points. In addition, it featured 10,000 DIDs and 300 dynamically allocated Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunks to ensure every data session and voice call could be completed quickly, clearly, and without interruption.

This solution was implemented in time for the new hospital’s grand opening, providing communication between the hospital, data center, and the public from the minute the doors opened. Every concern about availability, volume, and redundancy was resolved in a solution with one provider, a single point of contact, and one bill—a bonus in the eyes of the healthcare system.

What Can Managed Connectivity Do for Your Business?

Managing a robust and secure enterprise network is a daunting task. As a business leader, you are responsible for recruiting, hiring, and building a knowledgeable and highly skilled staff that is responsible for constant monitoring, regular updates, and rigorous adherence to policies and standards to keep your network up-to-date and intrusion-free.

Adopting a managed connectivity solution for your business provides a host of advantages, particularly for global companies and those with three or more locations. So, what can the right MSP do for your business?

Reduce Costs

You could research and experiment with solutions in-house, as many businesses do. You could waste time and money while potentially missing opportunities or opening your company up to risks like data breaches or ransomware. However, those options will end up costing you more money over time.

Outsourcing your network services to a managed connectivity provider gets you a custom-designed solution and flexible payment options, such as paying over the term of the contract, while taking advantage of the favorable pricing that comes from working with an MSP.

That’s only the initial setup. Don’t forget the savings you realize when you don’t have to house an entire staff to manage your network. Your provider has the specialists available when you need them. Your expenses not only become more manageable but more predictable with a single provider and a transparent recurring monthly price for all your network management and support.

Reduce Risk

Every leader understands that risk is inherently part of doing business. Whether it’s safeguarding against cybercriminals, planning for potential catastrophic outages, or adapting to changes in government regulations, or economic conditions that impact your operations, every company must have a plan for mitigating and responding to business interruption.

No matter the situation in any region where you do business, managed connectivity gives you options to navigate unplanned disruptions and swiftly react and pivot to keep your company functioning effectively and efficiently when situations outside of your control arise.

Improve Security and Compliance

Cybercriminals continue to work harder as technology advances. There is never a time you can assume you’ve completely thwarted every risk of intrusion or data theft. Managed security and connectivity is like having a watchdog on your network 24/7/365 that also plans for new threats as they emerge while keeping your technology current.

Remaining vigilant on security and compliance with secure firewalls, audits, and strict adherence to standards, protocols, and best practices is just a sample of the ways an MSP can keep your business safe.

Plan for Current and Future Success by Partnering With the Right Managed Services Provider

Everything would be much easier to manage if we only had a way to predict the future. We could avoid every risk, exploit every opportunity, prevent waste, and increase our return on investment with every expenditure.

The only thing we can do, however, is make smart decisions based on our business needs, risk profiles, anecdotal evidence, statistical probability, and the tools and technology to help us manage risk while achieving our goals. It’s a weighty responsibility made easier when you have a partner that specializes in doing exactly that.

BCM One helps to streamline networks and connectivity for global and multi-location businesses. Our next-generation communications and managed services modernize communications and collaboration capabilities across every site, allowing you to optimize operations in an increasingly diverse and geographically dispersed work environment. When you are ready to upgrade your network, save money, reduce risk, and improve your communications, we can help. Contact us today to get started.