LANs to WANs: The Complete Management Guide

16.1 Introduction

With increasing reliance on voice and data networks, telecom and IT managers must become more attuned to the importance of evaluating vendors in terms of their maintenance and support capabilities prior to making major purchase decisions. Over the allowable depreciation period for telecom equipment and information systems, the cost of maintenance and support can easily meet or exceed the original purchase price. Since this hidden cost can consume as much as 20% of the telecom or IT budget, it must be factored into the price-performance equation.

Dozens of individual activities encompass the service and support offerings of carriers, vendors, and third-party firms, including the following:

• Site engineering, utilities installation, cable laying, and rewiring;

• Continuous monitoring of the system or network for proper performance, alarm interpretation, initiation of trouble tickets, problem-resolution tracking, and implementation of diagnostic activities;

• Notification of the appropriate hardware vendor or carrier for service restoration;

• The repair or replacement of the faulty system or component by a service technician dispatched to the site;

• Escalation of problems to a higher level of expertise when they cannot be readily solved;

• Work-order administration, inventory tracking, and maintenance histories;

• Administration and implementation of equipment moves, adds, and changes;

• Network design, tuning, and optimization;

• Systems documentation and training;

• Preventive maintenance scheduling and implementation.

A variety of other types of support are also available, such as 24-hour telephone (hot line) or Web-based assistance, short-term equipment rental, fast equipment exchange, guaranteed response time, and customized cooperative maintenance plans that qualify the organization for premium reductions if an internal help desk is established to weed out routine problems, most of which are applications related. An increasingly popular support offering is remote diagnostics and network management from the vendor or carrier’s NOC, which performs continuous surveillance of equipment and access lines on a 24/7 basis.

The following are methods of delivery for maintenance and support services, each with its advantages and disadvantages:

• In-house staff (do-it-yourself);

• Equipment vendor or communications carrier;

• Cooperative arrangement between user and equipment vendor or communications carrier;

• Third-party maintenance firm.

The choice of delivery method hinges on several factors, including the resources of the organization, the type of business it is in, and the talent pool in the locations in which it has a physical presence. Of course, the state of the economy plays an important part in what delivery method is used. When economic growth is slow, for example, companies are under pressure to contain costs and may see outsourcing arrangements as the way to accomplish this and still get the services they need.