Inside the Market for WAN Management Outsourcing

Outsourcing is a concept that has been a part of the business landscape since the 1980s. Today, it increasingly is being used as a strategic tool to augment competitiveness and to free capital for focusing on core competencies. Ways to outsource wide-area network (WAN) communications, the lifeblood of any large commercial enterprise, have been examined and tried by many firms. As strategic communications come to encompass the whole enterprise, the importance of effective, reliable, and cost-effective managed WAN service offerings has grown in proportion. Inside the Market for WAN Management Outsourcing, copublished by the International Engineering Consortium and Communications Industry Researchers, provides a thorough examination of the market opportunities and obstacles for outsourcing WAN services based upon a statistically valid survey of network and information technology (IT) managers, together with an analysis of the issues facing the market.

The report includes the results and analysis of more than 200 interviews with network and IT managers-including their perceptions of, willingness to use, and experiences with outsourcing and managed services. This audience plays a key role in the decision-making process of firms that serve as the customer base for outsourcing/managed service providers. The report also analyzes the critical factors that anyone affected by outsourcing and managed services will need to address.

Outsourcing frees IT personnel to focus on company strategic/core initiatives and reduces the need to make large investments. For example, the Offshore IT Outsourcing,Software Development Outsourcing & BPO Services Company must clearly estimate and propose costs. Network computing is changing the face of business, with 90% of worldwide bandwidth estimated in use for data networking by 2003. Organizations are embracing new applications to facilitate unprecedented levels of communication and collaboration between employees, customers, suppliers and vendors.

The Internet is a burgeoning channel through which queries can be initiated and information received. Database access supports many critical operational and strategic business initiatives. Corporate WANS offer an excellent infrastructure from which web-based solutions can be deployed. These facts and many more are driving the dramatic changes in the way businesses operate.

In a time of increased competition and shrinking profit margins, enterprises need to leverage the power of network computing to stay ahead. Implementing and managing a network-computing infrastructure, however, requires time and resources, leaving it with little time to focus on core requirements. As a result, network managers are opting to outsource certain aspects of network operations so as a result, network managers are opting to outsource certain aspects of network operations so they can focus on their core activities. These include managing such components as link redundancy, alternate carriers, fault tolerant software, fast-packing switching, digital technology, error-checking protocols, passwords, encryption methods, firewalls and broadband networking.

With a migration to integrated packet networks, networking skills requirements are shifting quickly. The integration of data, voice and video--all with different characteristics and response-time requirements--is challenging network behavior to ensure availability of mission-critical applications.

In an increasingly Internet/intranet-centric environment, network management requires a deep understanding of the behavior of the TCP/IP protocol stack and the ability to implement quality-of-service technologies. Enter the people problem: personnel costs are increasing approximately 10% each year, driven by a robust economy coupled with a scarcity of skilled workers. Additionally, as WAN technologies become increasingly complex--in particular, incorporating quality-of-service capabilities--equipment configuration, monitoring and maintenance are becoming ongoing struggles for many companies.

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