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There are many good reasons to stay with your current Internet Service Provider (ISP)—whether you’re happy with their service, committed to a contract term, afraid of the potential hassle, or are just not in favor of change. The good news is—whatever your reason, you can add ‘over-the-top’ voice, networking and security services, independent of your ISP, to complement your last mile connectivity.

BYON, or bring your own network is the concept where access-agnostic solutions allow you to swap phone systems and migrate to the latest communications and networking technologies easily, while keeping your underlying connectivity in place. BYON offers a unique mix-and-match approach, empowering you to find the optimal combination for your business communication needs.

Common network-agnostic solutions

• Managed SD-WAN. A simple way to optimize and transform your network to meet the evolving demands of the cloud. Seeking a fully-managed SD‑WAN solution will eliminate complexity and maximize ROI, especially one that is equipped with proactive management, visibility and control of all your locations from any device. If you are upgrading or incorporating an existing MPLS network, be sure to find a carrier who supports hybrid solutions.
• Unified communications as a service (UCaaS). UCaaS enables a more connected, collaborative workforce, allowing communication from anywhere with just about any device. It’s favored when upgrading outdated premises-based systems that can no longer support the level of flexibility to work or scale efficiently. Look for a platform that offers instant messaging, chat, presence, mobility, conferencing, CRM integrations and provides the ability to make real-time changes.
• Network security and compliance. Most experts agree that a security breach is no longer a question of if it will happen, but when. No doubt you have a firewall in place, but how long has it been installed and are your rules and policies current and tested regularly? Look for a managed firewall solution, in addition to a proactive distributed denial of service (DDoS) mitigation solution to off-load the burden and shield you from the most sophisticated threats. Over the top services are also available for PCI, GDPR, HIPAA, and other similar regulations.

Is BYO for you?

“BYO” is not a new concept—bringing your own lunch, beer, wine and most recently, device is a common practice that allows a simple way to control personal preferences and costs—but is BYON right for your business? There are a few things to consider.

• Customized solutions without the hassle. Achieving the right solution for your organization can be faster without ripping and replacing your underlying access.
• Business continuity. In addition to active/active failover with SD-WAN and cloud-based UCaaS and security solutions, diverse connectivity from multiple underlying providers can offer resiliency.
• Compliance. Enterprises may need to create and enforce BYON policies to help ensure data remains secure and meets all compliance requirements.
•  Expanded serviceability. You may have a great relationship with your regional service provider, but they might not be able to expand with your footprint or growing needs. The good news is, you can keep them where it makes sense and layer on services to sustain your needs.
• QoS and SLAs. Not all over-the-top services guarantee quality of service and SLAs when Internet access is not provided in conjunction with that service.
• More providers may add complexity. Not all carriers allow customers to procure their own broadband connections to access the above managed services—and allow the customer to manage and configure services—so it’s important to find the right partner that can support several solutions and make your life easier. And don’t forget, multiple providers mean multiple numbers to call when things break, multiple processes to follow and multiple invoices.

Taking your network from “zero to hero”

We recently helped Arc3 Gases add SD-WAN, UCaaS and Managed Network Security to take their network “from zero to hero”. Disruptions were eliminated by leveraging existing connections—no “rip and replace” tactics were needed. By going “over the top” of existing connectivity, Arc3 avoided paying early termination charges for circuits still under contract. These connections were paired with cost-effective cable circuits in an active/active configuration to simultaneously maximize bandwidth utilization and ensure uptime. 4G fail-over was also added in an active/passive configuration to guarantee latency-sensitive applications, including VoIP, continued to perform well and without interruption. Not only did this customer successfully improve performance and converge multiple vendors, they also increased employee productivity and their customers’ experience.

If you’re interested in exploring a BYON approach, don’t hesitate to reach out.

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