CASE STUDY
The Benefits of a Dedicated Fibre Network Looking After Number One By Mike Ainger, Chief Operating Officer, Geo Networks
Businesses are now more reliant than ever on their network infrastructure. With concerns over the reliability of public network services, it is unsurprising that we are seeing a trend towards dedicated fibre networks to support high value transactions.
In today’s business environment, companies rely on their network infrastructure to communicate and do business. Any downtime puts companies in the dark, leaving them unable to trade. For a trading firm in the financial services industry, this can mean losing thousands of pounds a second. In the retail space, if a website is over capacity then customers will not be able to order and will go elsewhere to make their purchases. In order to ensure that these problems are avoided, a secure, reliable data network which is well equipped to cope as data volumes continue to multiply is essential. For IT managers in sizeable enterprises, the only assurance that critical applications are always ‘on’ is by using dedicated fibre. It is for this reason that many
organisations are increasingly moving away from outdated public network services models towards dedicated fibre networks which do not require data sharing.
Data deluge
One of the key drivers of this movement is network flexibility. Over the last few years, the business world has become increasingly data heavy, leading to a greater strain on bandwidth capabilities. Organisations on a shared service network typically pay for new capacity as their bandwidth levels increase, often at little discount to the original fee. As the data deluge continues to force bandwidth requirements up, organisations on shared networks will see their capital expenditure rising proportionally.
Meanwhile, dedicated network
owners simply pay a much smaller one-off fee to upgrade their network, quickly lowering the total cost of owning the fibre.
Reducing downtime
It’s not just the attraction of reducing bandwidth costs that continues to drive interest and demand in dedicated networks. They are also significantly more reliable than shared networks, and can make a huge difference to the consistency of business processes. Network downtime is a critical concern, both in terms of lost revenue and in loss of brand value and reputation. Regular network outages can have a serious impact on a company’s bottom line and the faith of its customers. The most common reason for
network outage is surface interruption or interference. Examples of this include upgrades to the public network, or utility repairs that have caused line cuts and disruption. Many legacy infrastructures and shared networks run alongside or just beneath general public utilities, greatly increasing the chance of disruption, or worse, a severed cable. IT managers who implement dedicated fibre networks are free from the problems typically caused by another user’s interference or maintenance, as theirs is the only traffic on the fibre. Dedicated fibre end-to-end networks also avoid passing through unnecessary buildings such as exchanges where the risk of disruption increases with the opportunity for human error.
Reducing vulnerability
Downtime concerns often run in parallel with fears of network vulnerability. Preserving the security of the network is a priority for all IT managers. Dedicated networks reduce vulnerability. They have more direct routing with fewer points to secure from intrusion, fewer disparate connections that could fail, and it is far easier to monitor all routes for potential problems. Once IT managers have their own
Geo’s London network is buried deep within the sewer system 48 NETCOMMS europe Volume II, Issue 1 2011
dedicated network, they are free to choose the management that suits them best, whether they use their own
personnel to monitor and manage the fibre, or outsource to their network provider as a managed service.
Diverse routing
Many organisations, particularly in finance, require minimum distances between their diverse fibre routes. This guarantees that in the event of one road or area being subject to substantial damage, their data can be seamlessly directed through a different path away from the affected area for an uninterrupted customer experience. They are also able to guarantee the latency of their network for critical applications. While a dedicated fibre network route will not change its routing, Virtual Private Networks and Synchronous Digital Hierarchies can do so. Dedicated networks can be deployed
through any landscape as long as the right planning permissions are obtained and the network provider has the necessary experience and capability. Geo’s London based fibre-only network is buried up to 12 metres below ground, deep within the sewer system. This eradicates surface disruption and means that the fibre runs through unique routes. It also ensures that organisations have a diverse path for their critical data. Unlike the many networks that run alongside rail and roads, Geo’s national network tracks the gas mains to provide a more secure path that is unlikely to suffer disturbance. Legacy networks typically comprise
both copper and fibre. Businesses that distance themselves from copper by choosing a fibre-only network can help safeguard against disruption through attempted theft.
Don’t go dark
Dedicated fibre optic technology is not just a means of offering higher speeds of data transfer, it is also key to delivering reliable networks. As the wealth of data transported within and between businesses continues to grow, the commercial world needs to be able to rely on secure and diverse networks to keep businesses up and running.
www.netcommseurope.com
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