The MegaPath Connectivity Blog

It can be argued that MPLS has been one of the most successful standards to come out of the IETF.  It has been very widely deployed by business around the globe, in both small and large networks.  If your business hasn’t yet leveraged MPLS, its really time you considered doing so.  Here are the 7 Reasons to Deploy MPLS In Your Business Network which you can reference when making your decision:

1. MPLS Scales – MPLS has been shown to work wonderfully for small businesses with just a few locations as well as in large business enterprise networks consisting of thousands and thousands of sites.
2. MPLS Is Flexible – MPLS is flexible by design, with separate control and data planes.  MPLS has also proven to be very adaptable, allowing new technologies and features to be implemented over existing networks.
3. MPLS Is Neutral – Private Line, ATM, Frame Relay, DSL or Ethernet, it doesn’t matter.  MPLS was designed to handle the multiprotocol nature of current networks, and does so with grace.
4. MPLS Is Great For VPNs – MPLS has proven to be very adaptable and secure, and this has allowed many businesses to realize better performance while protecting their data.
5. MPLS Lowers Costs – If you are still trying to manage your business connectivity without using MPLS, there is good news: moving to an MPLS network will allow you to improve your communication services while lowering costs.
6. MPLS Is Great With VoIP – It’s a marriage made in heaven.  Seriously, Voice over MPLS allows you to put the quality back into voice, so that you, your partners and your customers can communicate clearly with each other.
7. MPLS Is Great For Business – Whether you run a small business or large enterprise, MPLS is a proven technology that is ready to help your business improve its bottom line.

So make 2010 the year your business turned to an MPLS expert, and increased productivity and network survivability while lowering the total cost of ownership of your network.

As the year is coming to a close, I can look back over the last 12 months and can see that it has been a great year for MegaPath.  Back in September, we were again placed on the Inc. 5000, the magazine’s list of the fastest growing private companies in the US.  MegaPath took position 1,146 on the list this year, making a showing for the third consecutive year.

 Then, in November, we were placed on the 2009 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 (PDF), in position 364.  Deloitte’s list ranks the fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and clean technology companies in North America based on percentage revenue growth over a five-year period. 

Early in the summer of 2009, MegaPath was named to the VAR500 for the sixth consecutive year by Everything Channel, as they recognized we are one of North America’s top technology integrators.   MegaPath’s Channel Partner Program includes many of the industry’s leading VARs and integrators who are certified to offer the company’s leading connectivity, security and VoIP services. On a related note, back in October Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Dan Foster was selected to the PHONE+ magazine and Channel Partners Conference & Expo joint 2009-2010 advisory board. And in November we announced the creation of its Channel Partner Advisory Council to foster communication between the company and our valued channel partners.

Just recently, MegaPath learned that we have received Cisco® Managed Services Master certification, building on the Cisco® Powered designation in Managed Connectivity we announced back in February .  Achieving this designation required significant investment in our NOC and engineering team, with CCIE® and ITIL® professionals on staff, supporting our managed solutions at all phases:  preparing, planning, designing, implementing, operating, and optimizing. 

It was also a great year on the product front at MegaPath.  Back in June, Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) named MegaPath’s Managed Security Services a recipient of a 2008 Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award.  Also in June, we announced we had added our 300,000th SSL user.  In January we were pleased to learn our Duet™ voice and data service had received the 2008 Product of the Year award from INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine for the second time in a row.  We also expanded our footprint of Ethernet services this year, and brought additional connectivity options online for our customers.  We’ve been busy!

Well, looking back has been fun, but we’ve got our eye on the ball, and we’re focused on bringing your business the best voice, data and security solutions again next year. More than 20,000 business customers out there are expecting the most of us, and we are going to continue to deliver!

We wish you a Happy Holiday, and every success in 2010!

Tomorrow, Americans  all across the planet will celebrate Thanksgiving.  We will sit down with those closest to us, break bread and celebrate and give thanks for all that we have.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers for providing us the opportunity to serve them, to thank our partners for working with us throughout the year on delivering managed solutions that keep everyone better connected, and to thank the members on the team here at MegaPath for making this a great place to work.

I would especially like to thank everyone who will be at work tomorrow. Many of our customers will be open for business, providing needed and valued services to both businesses and families, whether they are a restaurant hosting the family gathering, or a convenience store staying open so you can get that gallon of milk. Folks will be working here at MegaPath, too, as engineers will be monitoring communications and security from the Network Operations Center.

I am glad and thankful that I get to take this moment to reflect on all the we at MegaPath have, and to think ahead to all the we can and will do tomorrow, to the solutions we will create, the value we will deliver and the future we will build together.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure suffered a glitch today, which caused air traffic delays around the country.  The statement from the FAA indicates that a software configuration error caused some key networking elements, which are responsible for flight planning, to be unavailable.  Once this occurred, there was ripple effect throughout the National Airspace Data Interchange Network (NADIN), resulting in the manual entry of flight plans.  This caused delays in flights across the country.

It should be made clear that at no time was flight safety affected, and that communications with all aircraft was maintained, and that key safety systems remained operational.  However, with workers having to process flight plans manually, and then fax or email them, delays were experienced by many travelers.

The lesson hear is that all businesses need to be ready with business continuity plans.  Your business may not handle millions of messages a day the way NADIN does, but each message you do handle is very important to the partner or customer who is on the other end of it.  This is why it is always good to have a backup plan, and be ready with a communications solution that is resilient, and is ready to continue to operate during unanticipated events.

Businesses can take a look a the MegaPath Business Continuity Planning Checklist and use it as a tool to see if they are ready to handle a communications crisis situation.  Having a managed SLL solution, or a cost effective backup broadband network in place, are good steps your business can take to make sure that your business gets transacted, even if their is a glitch somewhere in the system.

The FCC has posted a draft version of a broadband study that was made by The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University (PDF).  This very interesting report states “the Unites States is a middle-of-the-pack performer on most first generation broadband measures.”  There are countries analyzed in the report with higher broadband penetration rates, who have higher capacity lines and who have faster and more ubiquitous wireless networks.

One of the most interesting findings is that those nations who have embraced “open access” policies are among the most high performing when it comes to broadband.  The evidence seems to suggest that in countries such as Japan and South Korea, which have networks the report states are half a generation ahead of those in the U.S., have benefited from having policies that open not only their fiber infrastructure to competition, but also their wireless networks.  Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are all also pushing things this direction, and their broadband performance has been improving.  Countries such as Switzerland and New Zealand, which had resisted “open access”, have now changed course. 

The FCC is looking for comments (PDF) on the Berkman Center study, and wants to know if the study accomplished its purpose, if it complete and objective, and how much weight they should give to the report, among other things.  With the current Net Neutrality debate going on, it will be interesting to see the responses to this from the cable, telephone and competitive communications providers.

The report also points out that the $7.2 billion stimulus investment that the U.S. is making is mostly higher than similar investmants made by other countries. However, many of the leading countries have made long term strategic public investments in their broadband infrastructure, via expenditures, tax breaks and low cost loans.

I am excited that  the  U.S. is breaking out of the pack,  and to the leading role we will play in  the Next Generation of Broadband.  It is a great time to be working in this industry, and I look forward  to  making sure businesses are connected and enabled with advanced voice, data and security capabilities so that they can stay in constant contact with their customers, partners and staff around the globe.