UUNET SA expands e-commerce product offering

UUNET SA, the country`s leading Internet-based network services provider, is diversifying its product offering to provide a comprehensive suite of scalable e-commerce network options.

Building on its well-established UUdirect (leased line) products and enhanced data centres in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, UUNET SA is adding varied hosting, security and dial access products to its corporate connectivity arsenal.

UUNET SA`s Mike Bruyns-Haylett says: "We have several advantages in developing and delivering products. Our superior switched core network enables us to provide exceptional guarantees of quality of service. Also, we can supply seamless multi-platform options from a single point of customer access.

"Which means that no-one else can deliver the levels of redundancy, resilience, reliability, quality of service and geographic reach and support for such a diverse suite of products."

UUNET`s new hosting products give customers the option of sharing space on a server in a UUNET SA data centre (UUhost Shared), having their own server hosted in the data centre (UUhost Colocate) or having a UUNET SA server dedicated to their hosting needs, with UUNET SA managing and maintaining the software, hardware and infrastructure (UUhost Dedicated).

Customers get the benefit of the data centres` advanced security, support, reliability, high bandwidth and 24x7 network management via UUNET SA`s Network Operations Centre.

As part of the global UUNET Technologies network, UUNET SA can offer the benefit of unified billing anywhere in the world where UUNET has a presence. "This is particularly beneficial when websites are mirrored in different cities," says Bruyns-Haylett.

UUsecure products include firewall options scalable to the size of customer`s operations and virtual private network (VPN) facilities. VPNs are run strictly according to South African regulatory conditions in that customers do not share public lines provided by Telkom but do have the option of pro-rata sharing of UUNET SA router and other facilities.

This has the effect of reducing infrastructure costs while keeping customer data private and secure. It also gives customers Internet Protocol (IP) facilities for data transportation, with all the inherent speed, flexibility and extensibility benefits of a non-proprietary network operating at high bandwidths.

UUNET SA`s suite of dial-up products ranges from UUdial Solo for small companies connecting to the Internet via a router and UUdial Office for small companies with a LAN serving between five and 25 users, to UUdial VIP which provides wholesale dial facilities to ISPs or other connectivity service providers.

All UUNET SA products and services are supported by a 24x7 Info Centre providing first level support for customer queries as well as a detection and early warning system which alerts customers to network problems.

"Our products are aligned with UUNET Technologies` global products. As a result, South African customers have access to a seamless international offering," says Bruyns-Haylett. "It also means that UUNET SA can draw on international best practice and expertise and pass it on to local customers."