TECHNOLOGY REPORT
www.comms-dealer.com REASONS TO PLUG INTO THE
Migrating to a new world
Here we examine the architectural principles underlying NGNs compared to legacy solutions that were created in a different technological era, and discuss the main challenges resellers face before, during and after the migration to converged services and NGNs.
different to traditional legacy solutions created in a different technological era. The network
T
technology used in NGNs is reliable and resilient, enabling cloud hosting and offering significantly higher levels of service compared with the point to point or hub and spoke networking available on legacy networks. NGNs are also more cost effective to build, operate and evolve than legacy networks, without the maintenance of aging technology and costly updates required of the outdated legacy infrastructure.
Before migrating to NGNs, the real challenge for resellers is to understand the fundamental paradigm shift to convergence, believes Andy Lockwood, Transformation Director, Opal. “While all resellers can make some quick wins with short-term speed versus price improvements on NGNs, the real opportunities lie in identifying and
he architectural principles
underlying NGNs could not be more
understanding the potential a NGN creates,” he said. “By evolving their business to seize these new opportunities, which simply don’t exist with legacy networks, resellers will be able to access an entirely different future for their business.”
Right choice
The next key challenge will be choosing the right NGN operator. Customers and partners need to choose a network operator that covers their target geographical market, and if they have a national focus, covers as much of the UK as possible. Also, resellers must place a fresh focus on adding value to their customers’ business rather than chasing the minutes model. “Selling complete solutions will enable the end user to future-proof their business as well as open up
additional revenue streams for resellers via applications that can be bolted on to the NGN platform,” added Lockwood.
The ever declining fixed voice market means that adopting converged
“Researching and developing an NGN strategy that resellers are comfortable with and that adds value to the business is the first step,” noted Lockwood. “For many, the process of migration has already started. All of Opal’s resellers are already using our NGN, the second step and arguably the most relevant in today’s market, is to ensure they make the most of its potential.”
At this stage, taking more advantage of converged connectivity does not require changing networks, however it may require fundamental changes to the business model in order to maximise the benefits. “Resellers must become multi-service, offering service convergence and solution design consultancy
data-centric services is vital for resellers to survive, and the rapid pace of technology advancements combined with end users’ evolving business practices – remote and mobile working, for example – means that migration must be introduced as soon as possible.
to their customers,” said Lockwood. “While this may represent a significant challenge to many resellers, this is where the greatest rewards will be realised.”
IP at the core
Lockwood noted that all applications are moving to IP core networks. Data and Internet are already there, soon to be followed by telephony. “Once we have these services operating on a common IP core this will lend easily to delivering true service convergence, which means services won’t just share the same network assets but they will become aware of each other and can react and collaborate,” he added.
“The applications that can run over NGNs increasingly target different areas of activity for businesses, focused on improving operational efficiency, widening the ability to reach new customers. This will provide a never ending roadmap of potential applications aimed not just at telecoms cost cutting but genuine business performance improvement.”
Have you booked your table for The Comms National Awards yet? Visit
cnawards.com
32 COMMS DEALER OCTOBER 2010 The implication of
convergence for customers and partners is supplier consolidation. With legacy networks end users will typically have had several suppliers of telecoms services, perhaps as many as six or seven. NGNs allow, and indeed encourage, service consolidation, resulting in supplier consolidation. “The principle benefit of this to customers is ease of doing business,” said Lockwood. “With one supplier across all networking requirements, billing and procurement procedures are simplified while costs and time spent sourcing and maintaining the service are streamlined, with the additional benefit of simplified network cabling and routing.”
Many current generation services build upon the reliability of BT’s public switched telephony networks and time division multiplexing technology first deployed in the 1980s. These networks were optimised to deliver voice and related services and provided limited data capability. “In today’s data and media rich world
Connectivity Category
www.comms-dealer.com sponsors the
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60