Choosing the best telecoms operator to install and manage your public sector network is effectively a decision you have to get right first time. Seeing as though it’s almost like getting married, what are the type of things that ICT managers need to be mindful of if they are to avoid potential pitfalls much further down the track ?

We asked the Thames Valley based provider, MLL Telecom one of the leading players in public sector network management to draw on their extensive experience and, endeavouring to be as objective as possible, highlight a few of the issues which have cropped up in the past and should be addressed early on. Here are a few of the most important areas they advise concentrating on :

– Pro-active management. MLL advises prospective clients to try and ascertain from providers the ratio of incoming calls to faults and incidents detected. If clients are having to make more than one call per incident, it means that the network manager is not keeping them regularly informed of what is being done to remedy the situation. In MLL’s case, they aim to anticipate most faults and rectify them before clients even notice a problem in the first place.

– Full transparency. Just because your network is managed it doesn’t mean to say that you shouldn’t have full access at all times to what is going on. In MLL’s view, the client should insist on having direct access to the service provider’s systems via a secure web-based interface.

– Interpretation of data. Most providers will supply their clients with regular piles of data about various aspects of the service. A good provider will interpret this data for clients and make any necessary recommendations in the same way as an in-house department would.

– Expert help whenever you need it. MLL reckons it’s absolutely essential that the provider’s Helpdesk is manned by experienced engineers who understand service problems even better than the client’s own operations staff. It simply isn’t good enough when clients have to communicate via unskilled call- centre personnel with very basic knowledge. Moreover, it goes without saying that any self respecting network service provider will maintain a fully backed-up 24 / 7 operation.

– Core In-house competence. Although no organisation can possibly hope to do everything itself, it is absolutely vital that the service provider has the core elements of its service in – house. In MLL’s experience, operators who don’t at the very least have their own design, project and day-to-day management in-house invariably have clients who find themselves at the end of a long-chain of management operations with no-one able or prepared to take overall responsibility.

These are just a few of the main ingredients that MLL Telecom have found over the years are most likely to ensure sustained client satisfaction. No doubt other providers of managed network services for public sector clients have different views but the selection which we have outlined looks a pretty sound place from which to start.

MLL Telecom specialises in providing fully managed network services to service providers, system integrators and the public sector. For more information please visit UK Telecoms

MLL Telecom specialises in providing fully managed network services to service providers, system integrators and the public sector. For more information please visit http://www.mlltelecom.com

Author Bio: MLL Telecom specialises in providing fully managed network services to service providers, system integrators and the public sector. For more information please visit UK Telecoms

Category: Computers and Technology
Keywords: managed networks, public sector, UK telecoms