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Develop a Global Network Strategy Introduction Ordering data lines to do business with the organization’s foreign operations is NOT the same as in North America. IT leaders must understand the differences in planning, timelines, and budget in order to be successful in deploying the global network for the business. Why you should read this solution set: This solution set is designed for: Deploying networks globally present challenges on a much larger scale than within the same country. Many IT leaders have limited knowledge and experience on how to tackle global issues of connectivity, latency, and availability to achieve optimal global performance. It is important to get it right the first time. A comprehensive plan and strategy for global network deployment will increase chances of success. This set is designed for IT leaders in North America (director and management level) in organizations that have recently inherited a data center or server room in another country (regardless of the situation they have acquired the data center) that now need to deploy and support a global network. This solution set will focus on the strategy of deploying a global network but will not speak to global network operations after deployment. This solution set will address the issues and challenges faced by IT leaders in North American organizations that have been charged with managing a global expansion to aid them in developing a strategy to deploy the global network. Understand the Global Situation Info-Tech Research Group Gather Global Network Requirements Assess Global Network Options Select Global Carriers and Providers 2 Executive Summary Understand the Global Situation • Organizations experience a common set of challenges no matter how they manage services. Be prepared for global challenges such as latency, connectivity options, IT costs/staffing, network performance, carrier presence, and mean time to repair. • Connectivity costs vary widely from country to country. Many enterprises experience a range of $1,000 to $250,000 in onetime connection costs, and anywhere from $1,000 per month up to $100,000 per month afterward. • Choosing how and where to manage services will relate to the connectivity options available at your foreign facilities, and how well they will achieve business objectives. Gather Global Network Requirements • Typical domestic networks take 4-6 weeks to deploy, while the majority of successful global network deployments can take over 17 weeks. While often seen as tedious, the discovery process is one of the most important upfront planning activities. • Gathering network requirements should be a collaborative effort within IT and will require more than just the network staff. Include IT staff such as application owners, business leaders, and current carriers in the process. • Apply network metrics to each app to better understand primary and foreign site standards and expectations. Use metrics such as latency, jitter, packet loss, availability, and MTTR to better understand network requirements. Assess Global Network Options • A recent Info-Tech survey shows that managing foreign network infrastructure in-house within a foreign country takes approx. 35% more effort to deploy. However, none of the management models presented significantly more challenges or success than the rest. A complete assessment and evaluation of all options should be conducted before connecting the network to ensure it is done right the first time. Assess in-house, hosted, and virtual network operators to determine the best fit for the enterprise. • Enterprises that choose virtual network operators partnerships put in 33% less effort as compared to other network options. • WAN optimization is an effective way to speed up overseas network performance. Select & Manage Global Providers • Look beyond price when choosing a vendor or carrier. To help in the decision making phase, consider criteria such as service levels, geographic coverage, and technology used. • A one-size SLA does not fit all; regardless of the global network management model chosen, review the provider’s SLA meticulously. • Deploying an Network Management System will allow you to monitor the global WAN for performance and availability, to ensure SLAs are met. Understand the challenges associated with deploying a global network to prepare for, and overcome obstacles Develop a Global Network Strategy Roadmap Understand the Global Situation Gather Global Network Requirements Assess Global Network Options Select Global Carriers and Providers 1 • Identify the unique challenges associated with deploying a global network. • Identify the key areas to focus effort, and factors that influence success, when deploying a global network. • Understand the decisions points involved when deploying • Learn from other organizations’ experiences through a case study method of deploying a global network. 4 Get it done right the first time; establish realistic expectations when developing a global network strategy Many IT leaders faced with deploying a global network for the first time lack the knowledge and experience. Most assume that they can just call a provider and get set up – regardless of the geographical area. While for larger carriers this may be a possibility, many smaller North American providers do not have a global presence. In addition, many forget other barriers such as entering places under embargo, or with more stringent regulations. (i.e. Cuba or China) making the planning and evaluation phase critical. Doing it right the first time will not only save money, but will save time and effort to fix network problems later. Many IT leaders in North America make the assumption that connecting global facilities to the network will take the same time as in North America (4-6 weeks), however seasoned global network managers will tell you to expect timeframes of over 17 weeks. IT leaders must be prepared to have a discussion with the business that addresses more realistic timelines for global deployment. One time set-up costs and on-going monthly costs can range widely depending on the country. However, it is generally the last mile costs in many countries can be unexpectedly high. Without conducting proper due diligence, organizations could find themselves spending several thousand dollars per month to connect from the street to the building. Info-Tech Research Group 5 Tackle the common challenges that act as the most significant obstacles to global network deployment Identifying potential challenges is the first step to success. Consider the following obstacles before moving forward in global network deployment. Latency. Meeting the level of tolerance for latency between sites may become an obstacle. Latency in excess of 200 ms begins to become perceptible in voice and video interactions. Real time communications demand latency below 200 ms. Meet with users to determine network requirements. Consider using WAN optimization solutions. Connectivity Options. Many locales lack the breadth of connectivity options available in North America. Connections can also be much more expensive than their North American equivalents. Speak to large carriers and virtual network operators (VNOs) to help assess costs. IT Costs/Staffing. When delivering services to facilities overseas, 24/7 availability may be required (due to time zone differences). Increased availability and support needs are exacerbated when IT is centralized. Assess business requirements to better understand the global needs of the organization. Network Performance. The distance and number of networks that traffic must travel when going overseas can reduce performance, leading to jitter and packet loss.. Meet with users to determine service level requirements. Consider WAN optimization solutions, and local servers for some functions. Carrier Presence. Though most large carriers can negotiate connections for you in foreign countries, a lack of local network infrastructure near your foreign facilities can drive up costs. Send a request for proposal (RFP) to large carriers and VNOs. MTTR. Most North American carriers are quick to respond to network outages. Overseas, even in Europe, this is not always the case. Many local telecoms overseas have a MTTR of over 48 hours. Attempt to get a better MTTR guarantee in a contract, or use a VNO instead of a typical carrier. Info-Tech Research Group Organizations experience challenges no matter how they manage services. Be prepared by taking actions to mitigate those challenges. Increased IT costs & latency are the most common challenges across the globe, but the others can easily sink you A recent Info-Tech survey found that several items related to deploying a global network represent significant challenges affecting the success of deployment. challenge, especially in organizations that are managing all infrastructure in-house from a single location, or inhouse at foreign facilities. Network Performance MTTR Why? These scenarios represent the greatest need for additional support after normal operating hours, significantly increasing IT support costs. Connectivity Options Carrier Presence “ What happened was they worked with [a carrier] to try to get an MPLS link between Singapore and Toronto thinking that was the magic. That wasn’t the magic. It turned out that signals were running around Singapore Island three or four times just creating this latency. They would’ve had to do jump through hoops in order to change the time-outs and all that kind of stuff. - Consultant, IT consulting firm “ Latency represents the second biggest challenge Info-Tech Research Group High Latency Organizations managing all services in-house, regardless of location, are at least 13% more likely to cite increased IT costs and staffing as a challenge. Why? Latency is severely impacted by the distance data has to travel when crossing oceans and continents. Issues causing high latency include carrier network performance, multiple hops, distance between facilities, and re-routing due to downed lines. Low IT Costs, Staffing IT costs and staffing represent the biggest experienced by organizations with global networks. Average degree of agreement of challenges experienced in deploying a global network Gather business objectives & requirements for greater chances of success, especially when working in Asia Over 83% of respondents reported medium-tocolossal effort in gathering business objectives and requirements, leading these organizations to be 32 times more likely to have a successful global network deployment. Over 90% of respondents have deployed WAN optimization solutions, and are 15 times more likely to have a successful global network deployment. Each bar represents a statistical estimate of the strength of the correlation between each global network activity and the overall success of managing your global network. Source: Info-Tech Research Group, N = 31 Working in Asia requires more effort than other locales. Companies with foreign facilities in Asia (excluding India) spent a significantly higher amount of time on requirements gathering and deploying WAN optimization solutions. This is likely due to the relatively poor network infrastructure in countries like China, Philippines, and Indonesia. In addition laws are significantly different for each country, making it a very regional issue to work with Asia. Throw cost expectations, especially one-time connection costs, out the window Attempting to contact local telecom providers, receive concrete information, and get your foreign facilities connected can be a lot like climbing a mountain. There’s always a little bit of uncertainty, and you probably have to take at least one or two leaps of faith without knowing how it will work out. There are several ways to mitigate the risk involved in finding local, reliable vendors: Reach out to your social and professional networks by phone, email, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for referrals. Speak to any customers or partners located in the same region, asking them for the names of reputable firms. Use tools like ping and traceroute to test response times and the number of hops your traffic will have to go through. Getting connected also takes a great deal of time. Play it safe and assume a period of at least 6-8 weeks before your E1, metro Ethernet, or fiber line will be put in. Info-Tech Research Group Your carrier’s fees aren’t $5,000 a month, the local incumbent’s are A large portion of your one-time and monthly connectivity costs actually originate from the incumbent responsible for the last mile infrastructure. North American carriers attempt to make it easy to get connected overseas, but dealing with local incumbents and regulations prohibit this from being easy or cost effective. 9 Connectivity costs vary widely country to country; assume you will be paying more than you do in North America A recent survey revealed that connectivity costs in European countries, excluding the UK and Germany, tend to be the highest. Connectivity costs vary widely from region to region, and country to country. A recent survey yielded that respondents paid a range of $1,000 to $250,000 in one-time connection costs, and anywhere from $1,000 per month up to $100,000 per month afterward. “ “ We ended up having to actually install a global IPLC global Ethernet connection point to point between India and the U.S., which is significantly more expensive at $45,000 U.S. a year for a 4Mbps Ethernet pipe. - Shawn Frederickson, IT Director, Knowledge Technology 10 Achieving success will largely depend on choosing the management model that best aligns with business objectives In-House Choose the Best Management Model For You Pros Cons Both management models, either in-house or hosted (including managed services and co-location), have their pros and cons. At the end of the day, choosing how and where to manage services from will have a lot to do with the connectivity options available at your foreign facilities, and how well they will achieve business objectives. Full local control by your own staff Need to hire local support Easy to enforce internal processes Redundant WAN links unlikely Easy to expand May add additional hop or two - Jack Nash, former Global Telecoms Architect, Kraft Foods “ “ We selected Toronto, Canada as a central location for the global data center. I was working on a plan though to move those servers out of a central location because the closer you are to the data center, the better end-user experience you have. And if you’re Asia Pacific you absolutely hate [connectivity to] Toronto. As a result, we actually had another data center down in Australia that essentially served the APAC user community. Hosted Pros Cons Multiple, redundant WAN links Less control over network infrastructure Potentially fewer hops May take additional effort to expand No need to hire local support Additional services mean additional fees Info-Tech Helps Professionals To: Sign up for free trial membership to get practical Solutions for your IT challenges “Info-Tech helps me to be proactive instead of reactive - a cardinal rule in stable and leading edge IT environment.” - ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co., LP