Pick a provider
in 10 easy steps

Enterprise WAN capabilities depend on service availability.

Network service providers (NSPs) deliver Internet connectivity via backbone services to distributed companies worldwide. Once subscribed, enterprise WAN capabilities and business continuity depend on service availability. Successfully choosing one or more NSPs requires a defined, unbiased selection process that should include the following tasks:

1. Define the selection process. Are the requirements adequately defined? Are the selection criteria identified and given appropriate weighting? How rigorous will the process for requests for information, proposals and quotations be? What is the timeline for selection–will urgency impact thoroughness?
2. Define the expected service capabilities, global topology and service-level objectives. What are the exact services the vendor will be expected to provide? Is it simply connectivity to various edge routers? Will it include ownership and management of routers and their availability? Will the vendor also be responsible for full firewall/VPN services management? What are the measurable thresholds for each service component that will trigger a warning or critical service outage condition?
3. Select participating vendors. Decide which vendors to include, and treat them fairly and equally. Create the short-list criteria around easily ascertained metrics. A well-defined set of services fast tracks this process.
4. Plan to use multiple providers globally. Be ready to manage the delivery impact of using multiple vendors, a likely requirement for a global enterprise. No vendors provide coverage for all continents, so expect to investigate the pros and cons in various countries.
5. Analyze service-level agreements. Ask vendors to provide service-level agreement (SLA) details, as well as the process they use to define and manage their numbers. Typical metrics are based on network throughput (latency), accuracy (error rate) and availability (uptime), but will increase in breadth as the range of services increases. Ensure that the selection team has the skills to understand this level of complexity.
6. Trust but verify the vendor SLA claims. Take advantage of third-party Web services that report unbiased views of service-level deliveries to corroborate SLA claims, such as ratings.miq.net.
7. Plan to gather company performance metrics. Once services are in place, do not put the company at the mercy of the vendor for operational metrics. Instead, deploy and optimize an internal process for oversight of the leased services. This will enable management at all levels to understand the overall quality of the investment, as well as pinpoint areas of concern. In a year or two, the results of this step will be evident when the new vendor easily plugs into the management process.
8. Create a comparative pricing methodology. As cost may be the selection driver, unbiased comparison is required for all the proposed services, even for multiple geography proposals from the same vendor. One simple yet effective formula is “dollars per kbps per year.” For example, if a T-1 at 1,544 kbps costs $800 per month and $400 for installation, then the tangible cost of ownership for the year is $10,000. This becomes 10,000/1,544 or $6.50 per kbps per year. Be sure to include current and proposed pricing comparisons to gauge the cost of each area of service.
9. Decide the importance of vendor solvency. The network services space is flush with vendors scrambling to stay alive. Do not be surprised to hear vendors alluding to the impending demise of their competition. Define the level of market and company research required, but include it only as one factor. Analysts who specialize in such types of research often prove to be less than accurate.
10. Stay in control of the relationship. Should the company contract for multiple years to garner a 10% discount, just to find out after the first year it can renew for 30% less? Is post-contract, month-to-month pricing an option? Are network capabilities dependent on the vendor’s architecture? What hurdles would the company need to jump through to switch vendors? Be sure the choice will allow it to keep its future options open.

McCandless is CIO of performance management solutions provider FORTEL, Fremont, Calif.