Insatiable user demand for Internet services is forcing SA companies to keep acquiring more bandwidth.
Companies are investing heavily in deploying e-Commerce applications but find that customers have slow access to these applications because the e-Commerce traffic is competing with less important Internet traffic such as e-mail.
In addition, non-interactive traffic can congest a business` Internet access line and slow interactive traffic such as Web browsing down to a crawl.
Meanwhile Internet bandwidth is also often required by internal departments for billing or productivity purposes. For example, the IT department might need more bandwidth to download the latest software updates.
"The problem is that bandwidth in SA is expensive, and throwing more at the problem won`t always solve a company`s Internet access bottleneck," says Peter Davey, general manager, IS (The Internet Solution) Networks who believes a cost effective solution is to effectively manage existing bandwidth usage.
"Dedicated bandwidth management applications allow network managers to allocate bandwidth to different departments and protocols. The problem for most organisations is the cost associated with purchasing and maintaining these applications," he says.
In a move which will help network managers administer their Internet usage, IS has introduced an outsourced bandwidth management tool which can be utilised by IS subscribers in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
Called IS Bandwidth Management, it allows users to specify how much bandwidth each internal department gets as well as how much bandwidth each network protocol within each department is assigned.
"For example, a company`s IT department might require 50% of the total Internet bandwidth resources. Within that 50%, users can specify that 40% should be reserved for software downloads (FTP), 30% for Web browsing traffic (HTTP) and the remaining 30% should be allocated to Other (any unspecified protocols). Such a model allows less critical applications to be serviced, but at more realistic rates. This guarantees that no single application dominates the Internet link," Davey explains.
"IS Bandwidth Management also allows a company to specify which departments and which protocols within each department are able to burst into any unutilised bandwidth. This ensures that the Internet connection is utilised to the maximum, but during times of peak usage each department and each protocol receives its allocated resources."
Network managers can also log on to the IS Customer Zone and, through an intuitive Web browser interface, implement different options to help optimise bandwidth usage.
Changes are implemented real-time so that network managers can dynamically feel the effects of the various options as soon as they are made. Network managers can also generate live and historic reports on the allocated bandwidth, from protocol to department to the entire Internet access circuit.
The IS Bandwidth Management System also allows companies` centralised Internet network services department to operate as a profit centre "selling" Internet access to other departments. A summary report indicates the allocated bandwidth by department and protocol so that network managers can allocate costs internally to departments dependant on the requirements of each department.
"As a shared solution, companies do not have to purchase any software. They just have to subscribe to the service which costs approximately 10% to 15% of their Internet access charges. But the savings can be substantial. Companies which fail to manage their Internet access properly face having to install - and pay for - additional leased lines and purchase additional Internet access," concludes Davey.
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