How to select a carrier to cover businesses with a global footprint

Carrier selection is practically a science in the world of TEM. Every company has different needs, different budgets and different plans for the future, and finding a carrier who can match up to these expectations can be a challenge at the best of times.

But, what if you are also looking for a carrier that can cover your business’ footprints between different regions, countries, and even continents?

Suddenly the task becomes even tougher. So let’s take it step by step…

STEP ONE

What do you need?

If you already have a global footprint of your own, you need someone who can cover off every one of your existing offices, plus any other offices that you plan to launch in the near future. This should be your first consideration when thinking about what you need.

You should also think about how those offices interact, and how the traffic is engineered from a routing perspective across the offices e.g. hub-and-spoke or any-to-any for example. For instance, if you are a Norway-based office, your European footprint is likely to be much heavier than your footprint in Asia or the US, so it would make sense to consider local or regional suppliers before looking at US-based or Hong Kong-based carriers.

From the outset, you should also have an awareness of the level of service you would expect from your carrier in any given location. Think about what issues might occur across your own network (e.g. outages; upgrades; expansions; etc.) and what level of support you expect.

You will find that by setting general guidelines will enable you to down select the right mix of carriers, who are best suited to achieve the network design and goals for your organization.

STEP TWO

Global vs. Regional

Now you need to work out whether you wish to choose a large carrier who has a global footprint of their own, or a network of regional partners who can offer bespoke coverage.

Both options have their pros and their cons.

With a global company, you should have room to scale up or down as you see fit, and you should be reassured that they will offer consistency of service.

Many global operators also work with a network of regional partners, so you can get the benefit of their local knowledge without the expense of sourcing and managing them directly.

However, even traditional global carriers have their limitations, and although they have a global presence, their local reach may be lacking in a key area of your business. You may also find that you will pay more for a ‘tier one’ global provider.

Regional firms can offer local knowledge and on-the-ground support in the event of an outage or other problem. You should also be able to cut your costs by going directly to the source, and cutting out the middleman. However, in some countries you may find that one local operator has a monopoly on the market, and you may well discover that services aren’t what you might expect from a more competitive environment.

One also has to consider the overheads associated with managing a multitude of local carriers. Generally you are also increasing your own workload, as you will have to stay on top of various different types of engineered networks, change control or problems for the duration of your contract.

Depending on your business’ plans, this could wind up being a full-time middle management job, which is an additional cost over and above your carrier considerations. In this case, it may work out that a global supplier is willing to manage local suppliers on your behalf as part of an outsource arrangement as well.

Alternatively, you could opt for a combination of global plus regional carriers.

Where you are going into harder to reach locations (e.g. Brazil or Grand Cayman), you may need to start deciding whether you want to choose local provider for those services alone. The benefit of this is that you will be choosing local people who are based in the area and understand the local systems and networks. When you combine this local expertise with a larger regional or global supplier, you can essentially create your own bespoke service.

STEP THREE

Draw up your SLA

You should always seek the best possible price through benchmarking, but you should be aware that whether you are hiring a carrier with a huge global reach, or a series of regionally specific carriers, your costs will mount up. In order to stay within your budget without sacrificing your reach, you may have to be prepared to make a few compromises.

Don’t be afraid of going with a relatively new player to the marketplace. If they are confident in their services and they can offer a strong SLA then that should offer some reassurance.

It is worth bearing in mind that SLAs will vary greatly by region, so you might expect a very different level of service for a network which is intra-US, as opposed to one which is intra-Africa, where it may be more difficult to fix issues purely due to the accessibility of certain areas, and the availability of qualified engineers.

Once you have followed these three steps, you should end up with a fully functioning carrier service, which is equipped to handle all your needs. Whether you go global, regional, or a combination of the two, there is no shortage of options, just as long as you set realistic goals and know what it is that you need.

Click here to read about the six clauses you should always add to your telecoms contracts. 

Temforce – Category Management SaaS enabling teams to manage their Telecom, IT Categories and Suppliers through 1 easy to use application.