Buy a Solution, Not Point Products

When determining solutions for your network, choosing individual products that will theoretically solve a specific problem or provide a specific service without understanding how it will work within your architecture is not a solution at all. More thought needs to be lent to understanding how all the network’s moving parts work together to create good communication and ultimately good service to drive business and keep customers.

A network solution is a determined system of products that are known to work together in the most efficient manner. Buying a known working solution, opposed to point products, ensures the operator won't become the general contractor on the project- stuck between vendor finger pointing when problems arise.

Whether building a new network or adding to an existing one, network operators need be sure the products work together efficiently.

Building a new network or rebuilding

Starting from scratch, network operators have in mind the services they want to offer and the protocols they need to run for those services to be delivered. There are point products out there that will, in speculation, deliver what the operator is seeking. But without a thorough understanding of how those products work together inefficiencies abound:

• A network operator may purchase several point products without knowing the product could be used to do multiple jobs with the same efficiency.

• When point products are purchased the question remains; will the products communicate properly? If not, the operator may end up having to purchase more products to make communication possible.

Adding a service to an existing network

When adding point products to an existing network, operators need to be sensitive to their already revenue-generating services. Without being able to trouble shoot the outcome of adding the product, operators could potentially disrupt the exiting services and realize a loss of investment into the new product as well as loss in the existing services.

With IPTV deployments being the hot button for telcos, there is a myriad of products promising to assist in the process. The trick is in understanding how the products work together and how they affect the already existing network. For telco operators, an IPTV deployment with point products can be disruptive to potential revenues and existing ones. Adding a ton of video on the network without understanding its potential impact on the other existing services could potentially damage these existing services by causing the current network infrastructure to fail.