Telkom`s certification as a Cisco Systems Gold Partner will boost its Customer Network Care (CNC) managed network service, and other router-based network solutions. The accreditation is the highest level of Cisco certification achievable on a networking infrastructure level, and will enable Telkom to strengthen customer support services and enhance its delivery.
Around-the-clock network surveillance and guaranteed service levels are just two of the factors that have pushed Telkom into the top five of South Africa`s managed Wide Area Network (WAN) industry.
Since signing up its first customer in 1996, Telkom`s CNC has undergone a continual technological evolution, with an important enhancement being the establishment of a centralised network management system at Telkom`s National Network Operations Centre (NNOC) in Centurion.
"Our next important step was to obtain the Cisco gold certification which we achieved in December last year," said NNOC Executive, Pierre Marais. "We now have the largest number of Cisco Certified Internetwork Experts in the Cisco certification programme enabling us to increase the breadth and penetration of provisioned services."
During the process of fulfilling the Gold Partner Certification requirements, Telkom invested extensively in people. In addition to the capability in the NNOC, the Company`s Core Network Field Operations organisation has Cisco capabilities throughout the country.
"Our Gold Partner status will allow us to provide a broader suite of services targeted at the large corporate market," explained Telkom`s Managing Executive of Corporate and Global Markets, Randall Seidl.
"These will include IP applications that significantly supports Telkom`s drive to become the preferred supplier in South Africa," he said.
Accreditation as a Cisco gold partner also provides the NNOC with direct access to Cisco`s development and system engineers world-wide, ensuring quick response times and efficient solutions to any customer problems that may arise.
The NNOC houses a dedicated CNC surveillance centre, so full time CNC specialists are able to do real time monitoring of each customer`s WAN and proactively trouble shoot problem areas like power supply failures and cable breaks. "Often we will detect a problem and take action before the customer even becomes aware of it," said Seidl.
Surveillance occurs through a highly secure, totally separate network management platform, full security and confidentiality are guaranteed.
"We offer customers an end-to-end service level agreement covering both the WAN equipment and the Telkom links thus eliminating blame shifting or finger pointing where a network is managed by various organisations," he said.
Telkom manages the networks of a rapidly growing number of customers. Some of the main features of Telkom`s CNC offering are:
Monthly network performance reports;
WAN equipment acquisition, configuration and installation;
Configuration, management and maintenance of WAN equipment;
Single point of contact for network related needs - 24X7 service desk facility;
Service management through monthly customer reviews with network administrators; and
Access to CNC web pages for network reports.
Telkom offers customers built-in scalability which means that whether the company designs a WAN from scratch or reconfigures an existing network, the CNC teams continually evaluate current and future network needs avoiding costly quick fixes or impaired network services.
Share
