How to Support Multi-Location Internet Connectivity Without the Headaches!
If your business requires reliable broadband service across multiple business locations, your IT team is often forced to make a tough choice between shelling out money to several local carriers, or accepting mediocre connectivity. Whether the priority is powering Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications, an IOT platform or delivering broadband internet to multiple retail store locations or Point-of-Sale devices, finding the right broadband support is critical in keeping a competitive edge. By keeping in mind these ‘must-have’ features when evaluating internet services for multi-location businesses, your organization keep costs down and keep connectivity always-on.
- Look for multi carrier/Single support solutions- The key to obtaining superior internet access across multiple locations is to find a provider that can offer services from multiple carriers! This way, regardless of where the business is located, whether it’s remote or across city and state lines, connectivity won’t be an issue. Multi-carrier solutions can be rapidly delivered from a single pool of data and provide better network diversity, ensuring a varied path to the primary network. Through the portfolio of major carriers, make sure the provider and the router selected can augment WAN bandwidth with 4G/Ethernet (T1, DSL, cable) and Wifi as WAN. This will improve the quality of internet experience and increase availability across multi-site locations.
- Multi-sim deployment and auto carrier selection is critical- The problem with traditional single modem routers is that they required users to keep an inventory of different types of modems, if multiple carriers are going to be used. That can create a management bottleneck and delay deployments. Today however, routers are available that offer no touch rapid deployment service and auto carrier selection capabilities.. In multi-location deployments, look for providers and modems that can detect which SIM card is installed, and then automatically load the correct carrier firmware and configuration settings to connects to the carrier. With multi-sim deployment and auto-carrier selection, during an internet failure you have an immediate backup internet connection to the strongest possible wireless provider.
- Cloud-managed solutions streamline management- Cloud-managed options for multi-WAN environments using one or more LTE and Wi-Fi-as-WAN connection are critical because they can be configured and managed centrally and remotely. With a virtual cloud network with LAN emulation, enterprises can support distributed branch offices with 4G/LTE, SD-WAN and cloud services. Cloud managed options from Broad Sky Networks and Cradlepoint are unique because they power zero-touch deployment for rapid installation and remote management of multi-WAN branches and IoT gateways. This reduces added time and costs once required to manage broadband at multiple office locations. A cloud-managed solution lets IT admins troubleshoot connectivity issues remotely, set up alerts and select which carriers are primary, and secondary and how the failover processes is managed. This provides the ultimate visibility and control without added costs.
- Consolidated support and billing- A proven broadband provider that delivers managed customer service across multiple carriers, is worth its weight in gold. Look for a partner that does this and understands the connectivity needs of each of your business locations. One-on-one attention from a premier broadband provider can give businesses the greatest competitive advantage. In addition, a provider that can pool together data across multiple carriers, with centralized management, will help keep costs down and eliminate the need to manage multiple invoices, so you only pay one single bill monthly for broadband access. The right partner can also keep organizations abreast of new modem and router options, which helps optimize resources, improve ROI and cut connectivity costs overtime.
Today companies can count on the reliability and deployment flexibility of wireless service to support many multi-location enterprise environments. If you’d like to learn more about how Broad Sky Networks can support multiple carriers and augment WAN bandwidth with 4G and Wifi as WAN to deliver best internet experience possible to all your locations, email us at Partners@Broadskynetworks.net or give us a call at (877) 291-9575.
