RIMS Connectivity Guide
August 2013
Network Assessment and Recommendation
Process - Overview
Network Assessment and Recommendation Process Overview
Splice is committed to the most optimal network health of our clients. Our goal is to assist our clients in evaluating, recommending and if applicable, implementing the best solutions possible that will
maximize network uptime while minimizing the necessary internal IT resources required to achieve this level of performance. As no two networks are the same, no two assessments are the same either. However, all Splice network assessments must have the following criteria in order to be successful:
• The Client’s primary and secondary goals and objectives for their network Infrastructure and performance (Short term and long term)
• Primary objectives and expectations for the network assessment and Splice • Desired timelines and completion dates for all milestones and deliverables
Once the above criteria has been identified and documented, Splice takes a very methodical approach to our assessment and recommendation process. Our assessment may include some or all of the following components:
Carrier Network Information
Determine and confirm all data and voice circuit inventory and information including • Location Address
• Carrier Availability at each location
• Circuit types at each location and specific carriers identified (primary and redundant) • Bandwidth speeds
• Business use and purpose of telco infrastructure
• Determine current failover process (company and by location)
Carrier Network Environment Analysis
• Evaluation of Carrier Incident history per month by location
• Analyze and evaluate bandwidth utilization and capacity limitations for all locations • Determine Incident ratios tied to bandwidth capacity
Network Topology Inventory and Assessment
• Gather information related to all Network equipment
- Identify and catalog all makes, model numbers and associated IP addresses for all equipment
- Determine life cycle status
- Determine equipment requiring refresh/replacement • Complete location by location Site Surveys as required
- Telco room equipment inventory - Digital Images of the environment
- Expanded survey and equipment inventory (full site equipment and topology inventory) • Gather all current network diagrams to evaluate interconnectivity of all locations
Network Maintenance and Management Assessment
• Gather information related to equipment incident volumes per month
• Determine current incident workflow process, including use of any 3rd party service providers • Determine current network maintenance schedules and processes
• Determine current IT staff, core functions and capabilities • Identify any workload pain points and operational bottle necks • Identify and evaluate all current network monitoring tool sets
• Evaluate the functionality, scalability and reporting capabilities of monitoring tool sets in the context of clients goals and objectives
Final Analysis and Recommendations
Upon completing the information gathering phase for the key elements and processes of the client’s network infrastructure, Splice will provide the following deliverables to the client:
Network Infrastructure and Process Evaluation: Based on all of the gathered information, we will
identify all strengths, areas of vulnerability as well areas of opportunity of the current network environment, architecture and process flows.
Telecommunications
• Identify carrier, bandwidth and service options that will maximize network uptime and reduce outage/downtime related to capacity, latency or other performance issues
• Provide additional carrier options by location that will provide complete redundancy and fail over for each site location
• Specify optimal process and workflow improvements to quickly address and resolve network carrier outages and trouble shooting
• Recommend solutions to address any Internal IT resource limitations to managing Carrier related activities
• Recommend end user support options and capabilities to manage incident flows of client’s internal or external “customers”
Network and Site Equipment
• Recommendation for any network equipment replacement including routers, switches, Firewalls, servers, wireless controllers and access points
• Identify and detail a recommended replacement/refresh schedule for all remaining equipment based on life cycle and optimal performance
• Provide recommendations of alternate makes/models based on observed limitations of the current equipment deployed
Network Monitoring and Management
Based on our assessment of the client’s current monitoring tool sets and incident processes, Splice will provide recommendations as follows:
• Monitoring alert and remediation functionality improvements • Optimal monitoring alert thresh holds and Best practices • Incident management and process flow improvements • Reporting and metrics management recommendations
After reviewing Splice’s recommendations, at the client’s request, Splice can also provide services and project management to any or all of the following areas:
• New Carrier Service Provisioning: Splice owns the entire carrier installation process from
order placement to final test and install of the services as required. This service does not require Splice to be the underlying “carrier of record”. Utilizing a Letter of Agency, Splice can act on behalf of the customer and work directly with their carrier(s) as required to complete any project.
• Carrier Trouble Ticket Escalation/Resolution: All outage and resolution activities related to
the client’s sites/locations and complete circuit inventory is managed by the Splice Support team, 24x 7 x 365. Our U.S. based support center is located in Salt Lake City, Utah. This service does not require Splice to be the underlying “carrier of record”. Utilizing a Letter of Agency, Splice can act on behalf of the customer and work directly with their carrier(s) as required to complete any project.
• Direct Carrier Services: Splice can provide services from any of our 90+ Carrier Partners
(Including Verizon Business, AT&T, Level 3 Communications, XO and many regional carriers globally). By utilizing Splice, our customers receive multiple carrier options with one point of contact for all services and also a single billing source, vs. receiving multiple bills from various carriers. There are no “per carrier” minimum commitments required.
• Onsite IT Services: Splice can provide comprehensive project management, scheduling and
completion of most on site IT projects including: Site surveys, equipment
replacement/installation, cabling, configuration and other tasks as required. Splice can provide specialists and certified technicians to most locations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, South America and Canada.
• Network Monitoring Services: Our Monitoring platform provides the best of class monitoring,
and management functionality. More importantly, Splice provides a service that provides
up/down ping and remediation, full hosting and management of all monitoring service upgrades, alert thresh hold adjustments and incident history detail and reporting. We also can provide full management services such as patch management, root cause analysis and firmware upgrades. Splice views every client engagement as a critical component in a continuing relationship. We strive to become an extension of our client’s team and company. If we are fortunate to earn a client’s business and trust, our commitment is to continually provide relentless service, a management sense of urgency and honest, proactive communication in order to contribute to your company’s growth and success.
