As of January 2005, Internet Solutions (IS) is extending its service offering into Africa via a European point of presence (POP). Using the ISAT Africa solution, multinationals, telcos and large enterprises can make use of a managed, end-to-end service from any African country without having to depend on unpredictable, and often costly, local last mile providers.
Jacques Rautenbach, General Manager - Africa Services for IS, says: "The solution has been designed to provide first tier IP solutions to multinationals and corporate organizations in Africa with service quality and SLAs (service level agreements) equivalent to those already offered by IS locally in SA. The service model takes IS`s well-established access, MPLS and value-added service model to Africa. This enables companies with a global footprint to extend their WAN infrastructure into Africa over a common medium, managed by a single vendor."
The Africa core network incorporates satellite and (where viable) terrestrial connectivity with IP enhancements that negate the performance issues associated with IP over satellite. The network is designed to carry voice, video and data and is ideally suited for voice and ERP systems. The customer solution is independent of third-party telcos in Africa which allows IS to manage the solution end-to-end. The chosen network technologies are used extensively in Africa today by global organisations for voice communication and access to global ERP systems where IS can offer voice quality superior to that provided by the in-country telco.
"Satellite services, designed correctly, afford customers reliably, scalability and economics that no other medium can provide in Africa today. Essentially we are providing Africa-based companies and branch offices with a robust and reliable world-class service, excellent coverage over Africa, with the required management and value-added services that we today offer all our corporate customers in SA," says Rautenbach.
The network terminates on the IS MPLS network node in Germany and MPLS traffic can be carried anywhere in the world via IS`s global interconnect agreements. The service complements IS`s current MPLS offering and is open to any company requiring managed communication services in Africa.
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Internet Solutions (IS) has transformed its business model and become the only full network service provider in the country.
The business was founded on the principle of developing a robust infrastructure in order for corporates to conduct e-business. Over the past decade IS has established itself as a leader in this space, attracting over 80% of SA`s top businesses as clients.
During its 10-year life span, IS has evolved and grown its service offerings. Today, the company is the leading hosting service provider and security service provider in SA, as well as having significant market share in the virtual private network (VPN) and application service provider (ASP) space.
Internet Solutions has earned an impressive collection of accolades, including eight First National Bank "Most Admired" awards, two Financial Mail Best Company to Work For awards and a place in the Top Unlisted Company Awards.
The company partners with major players such as Cisco, Microsoft, Oracle BT and AT&T, and in 2002 was certified as a Cisco Managed Security Service Provider, the first and only company outside of the US to be awarded this accolade.
For more, visit us on www.is.co.za.
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