inside trackBusiness Technology Update for Business and IT LeadersVolume 4, Issue 1

Bringingthe cloudback downto earthWhat you really need to consider. Page four.

Security - the mission critical is

Richard Holbrook, Bistech TechnicalDirector, explains why securityshould be at the top of all boardroom agendas.

In today's business communicationsenvironment, with VoIP, convergedcommunications and concepts such as'cloud' being the technology norms,additional threats have emergedalongside the benefits these innovationsclearly deliver.

Now security is on the agenda at the very highest levels of every type of organisation, from businesses to governments.

When it comes tosecurity, you getwhat you pay forWe've seen how even the mostsophisticated global technology giants,with state of the art security systems,can have their operations, reputationsand incomes harmed by data securityand privacy breaches.

Toll fraud – are you at risk?

Fraudulent phone scams have been in existence for as long as the telephone. And as our communications become ever more sophisticated so too do the fraudsters.

The potential cost for businesses can be massive. In June 2009, for example, the FBI broke up a $55 million toll fraud, involving participants in Spain, Italy and thePhilippines who hacked into business telephone systems and used them to make longdistance calls. It was estimated that the fraudsters ran up an incredible 12 millionminutes of call time in this way.

How not to become a victim of toll fraud – talk to us

With our background in telephony within the overall communications mix, we areideally placed to help you protect yourself against, toll fraud.

We have spent well over 20 years building robust voice and telephony solutions for our customers. But we've also spent well over 20 years helping them protect theirbusinesses from security threats. Our extensive voice and telephony backgroundmeans we were identifying and solving security problems way before many of therecent IT entrants.

Eliminating the weakest links

We focus our efforts on vulnerable areas. These include using our sophisticated call and billing analysis platforms to highlight spikes or unusual patterns in phone usage.

Another area of focus for us is safeguarding you against the way in which some of our most useful (and now taken for granted) technology features, such as DDI andvoicemail, can be fraudulently manipulated.

02 bistech.co.uk

e ssue

The fundamental issue with regard toyour communications and computersecurity is that cheap provision usuallymeans corners have been cut. And thosecorners are usually to do with thesophistication and robustness of yoursecurity systems.

So can break-ins and breakdowns be100% eliminated?

The truth is: no. However, building anelegant communications solution withphysical and virtual security as its keypillars is paramount. In addition, simplytaking basic, common sense precautionssuch as encryption, call barring andelements like complex PIN and passwordprotection can make a real difference.

Prevention is so much better than cure

Your communication solutions must have security at their foundation, not as an after thought. This is one area oftoday's technology where cheap solutionsin the short term can cost you dear in the long term.

inside this issue

call us

247891011

Bournemouth 01202 863234

Birmingham 01212 331338

Bristol 01179 715627

Cardif 02920 395973

Edinburgh 01312 205309

Exeter 01392 499844

Isle of Wight 01983 522003

London 0207 6290455

Manchester 01612 379559

International 0207 6290455

137 Victoria Road, Ferndown,

Dorset. BH22 9HX

Tel: 01202 863200 review@bistech.co.uk

Security – the mission critical issueHow not to be a victim

Cloud BustingGetting a handle on what exactly ‘Cloud’ means for your organisation

BSI accreditationConforming for over 20 years

In a word, independentIt’s all about what’s best for you

NGN – New Generation NetworkBringing Britain’s telephone network into the 21st century

Perfectly suited to your businessThe right questions to be asking

If your network went down,would your business go with it?

03bistech.co.uk

NGN - New Generation Networkbringing Britain's telephone network into the 21st centurypage nine

Cloud

04

BustingWhat exactly is meant by cloud and more importantly, what exactly does this technology mean for your organisation?

05

Cloud is building rapidly

Everyone seems to be talking about‘cloud services’, though the idea is not new. Domestically, we have beenusing managed, hosted applicationssuch as email since the ‘90s. What’smore recent is the concept ofbusinesses relying on these hostedservices to manage a wide breadth of IT services – some with a view topotentially outsourcing large sections of their IT department.

So, cloud services, also known as Software as a Service (SaaS) are essentially about the hosteddeployment of applications. In effect,the software and hardware required by an organisation hosted offsitewithin a network in a way they canbe accessed and utilised – eventhough none of the hardware orsoftware being used may actually be owned by the organisation usingthem.

Where's this come from?

The IT industry has seen somedramatic developments in recentyears.

A key factor in its changing face is theimplementation of the tier ones’ newgeneration networks (NGNs).

NGN – New Generation Networkthe new network for the new century

BT, for example, has spent more than £10 billion over five years on an infrastructure project designed todeliver its new generation network –also known as the 21st CenturyNetwork (21CN). Other tier onecarriers have their own NGNs.

These new integrated networksessentially offer customers greaterbandwidth and, therefore, increasedspeed, at a more affordable cost. This enables the provision of new and enhanced services.

Greater bandwidth means thatapplications and services previouslytoo bandwidth-hungry to be accessedand utilised remotely can now bedeployed cost effectively on a remotebasis ie, as cloud services.

Another critical factor that hasenabled this development in the ITarena is virtualisation.

These new integrated networksessentially offer customers greaterbandwidth and, therefore, increasedspeed, at a more affordable cost.

Virtual reality The practical reality of virtualisation

This concept has increasingly been gathering momentum incommunications and technologycircles.

Virtualisation is the creation of a virtual(rather than physical) server ormachine. When traditionally, you'veneeded lots of physical servers to runlots of different applications, withvirtualisation you don't.

How has this come about?

Dramatically improved processingpower and increasingly sophisticatedsoftware has driven the concept andenabled virtualisation to become a

reality in today’s business.

What’s in it for your enterprise?

Virtualisation enables you to runmultiple applications and operatingsystems both simultaneously andindependently within a singlephysical server.

Going green

Whilst virtualisation can bringfundamental business benefits, it also represents massive ecologicaladvantages as well – ultimately driven by changing the way ITinfrastructures can now be created.

These include: reduced space andpower requirements, reduced capitalexpenditure on physical equipment

and maintenance; less equipmentmeans less impact at its disposal onthe environment; improved businesscontinuity options; the list goes on…

Our experience...

Bistech Managing Director, JocelynBrown, comments, 'When weundertook a programme ofvirtualisation ourselves, we reducedthe number of servers needed by85%; we reduced the number ofracks needed by 75% and we halvedour annual power bill. It’s alsoenabled us to increase our capacityfor growth and enhance businesssystems resilience. And crucially,virtualisation is better for ourenvironment.’

inside track Business Technology Update

bistech.co.uk

inside track Business Technology Update

06

So what has all this got to do withcloud services?

We’ve already discussed how NGNs can offer greater bandwidth for lowercost, but combine this with the ability to consolidate your hardware needs and the associated cost and efficiencybenefits that represents, and you have a powerful mix.

It is this ability to consolidate physicalserver needs together with thesignificant increase in bandwidthavailability for the masses that hasdriven the concept of cloud services.Because now you can host yourhardware more cost effectively (as youhave less of it) or outsource it altogetherand gain access to new improvedservices remotely (made possible by the fact that you can have bigger circuits for less money).

There are broadly three kinds of cloudsolution:

Private cloud this is the more traditionalmodel – a dedicated, highly secureinfrastructure with all the necessaryservices and resources designedspecifically for your particularorganisation and its needs.

Hybrid private cloud this provides adedicated environment, hosted by athird party and is inaccessible by others.This option leverages some benefits ofthe public cloud, such as hosted emailand disaster recovery, together withbenefits of a private cloud, like access to your organisation’s internal CRMsystems.

Public cloud this is typically what isreferred to as ‘cloud services' and isabout the services you have access to.Resources are hosted externally andshared with other organisations.

Cloud services can also be referred toas SaaS (Software as a Service), IaaS(Infrastructure as a Service) and PaaS(Platform as a Service). SaaS typicallyrefers to the software applicationsbeing provided, IaaS relates more

to the hardware infrastructure andoperating system, and PaaS generallymeans the entire environmentincluding software, hardwareinfrastructure and operating system.

The potential business benefits are many:

• Cost savings in terms of the in-houseIT resources and manpowerrequirements

• Speed and simplicity in thedeployment of additional services

• Scalability and flexibility to grow and evolve

• Future-proofing because any new orextra resources you need don't meanstarting from scratch, thus protectingyour existing investment

• Access to applications previouslyunavailable due to their cost orcomplexity

Sounds like a no-brainer? For moststrategic thinkers, the key concerns with the potential deployment of anoutsourced cloud solution centre aroundtwo things – their attitude to loss ofcontrol and their approach to security.The degree to which any business iscomfortable with outsourcing willdepend heavily on the size and scope of the business in question – and thepartner that is managing the service.

So now what?

Whether and which cloud might be right for your business depends on amultitude of factors, taking into accountyour business model and strategy.

We recognise that decisions to change the fundamental way your organisationoperates requires considerableconsideration, discussion and debate.

We have helped to facilitate many suchdiscussions, so if you'd like to furtherconsider the options and opportunitieswith our expert team, please call us on01202 863200.

bistech.co.uk

07

In a word...independentIndependence, like quality, is not simply aword we pay lip service to here at Bistech.It's all about what's best for yourenterprise, not just what's best for ours

Our approach is objective, transparentand genuinely consultative. We willalways give you a range of bespokeoptions to select from, based on yourstrategy, operations and plans.However, our recommended solutionsare not only tailored to your needs,they are carefully selected to deliveran impressive ROI.

Leave it all to us

We'll coordinate and manageeverything for you. This gives you a single and simple point of contacthere at Bistech. Can you imaginenever having to deal with any of thelarge communications corporates everagain? We do it all the time and knowexactly how to get the best from allbusiness partners on your behalf.

That's just one of the benefits of a Bistech solution!

Spotting talent with the X Factor

We only agree to work with ourpartners after rigorous due diligenceprocedures have been undertaken; so that we are in a position to offeryou a comprehensive range of options.

As well as working closely with manywell known and market leadingnames, we are also 'early adopters' ofsolutions provided by new, innovativeand capable providers.

Many of our partners – old and new,big and small – win industry awards,to confirm our faith in them.

It's all about what's best for your enterprise, not just what's best for ours

07bistech.co.uk

The British Standards Institute (or BSI) is probably one of theworld's best known names in thefield of quality standards. In fact,since its foundation in 1901 as theEngineering Standards Committee,the BSI Group – as it's nowknown – has grown into a leadingglobal independent businessservices organization whichprovides standard-based solutionsin more than 140 countries.

Over two decadesdedicated to excellenceSince 1991, Bistech has conformed to BSI standards. Bistech's continuingcommitment to service excellence and total customer satisfaction is

underpinned by a comprehensiveQuality Management System providingon-line access to all employees,whether in our out of the office. Ourcontinued compliance to stringentprocedures is regularly monitored byBSI Quality Assurance in addition to a demanding internal audit programmewhich extends to customerinstallations. The feedback of ourcustomers is an integral and invaluableaspect, allowing us to maintain ourindustry leading standards.

Bistech is registered byBSI to ISO 9001:2008

Everyone plays their part indelivering quality.

Service excellence is achievedthrough our total commitment, by all employees, to continuousimprovement and 'right first time,every time' delivery across the entirebusiness. Naturally, none of this canbe achieved without selecting theright calibre people and providingthem with ongoing development and training.

Moreover our compliance meanscomplete peace of mind for ourcustomers. We want you to be able to choose Bistech as yourcommunications solutions partnerwith total confidence, safe in theknowledge that we work to theworld's most rigorous qualitystandards.

Our BSI accreditation.Your peace of mind.

A long term commitment to quality and excellence

08

NGN - New Generation Networkbringing Britain's telephonenetwork into the 21st centuryAt an estimated cost of around £10billion and taking some five years tocomplete, BT’s new 21st CenturyNetwork (or 21CN) is being graduallydeployed across the UK by thetelecoms giant to bring their telephonenetworks into the modern world.

The other main carriers, such asCable & Wirelesss, Verizon, Virgin,Global Crossing and so on, aredeploying their own New GenerationNetworks. Their objectives in thesesignificant infrastructure projects isnot entirely altruistic, however. Forexample, 21CN's full deploymentwill save BT an estimated £1 billiona year in costs. It will also help thecarriers combat the decline in their

traditional revenues (ie telephone calls)while enabling them to further leveragethe increase in the new digitalcommunications (such as broadband)they have enjoyed in recent years.

However, NGNs offer yourorganisation real benefits too

People often refer to NGN as simplymoving everyone over to VoIP – butthis is a much bigger technical exercisethan that! BT’s 21CN means that thenational PSTN (Public SwitchedTelephone Network) will be moved on to a digital IP network, as a single'multi-service' network is introducedwhile others will eventually be takenout of service altogether.

And although the switch over to NGNwill be physically invisible to mostusers (ie no wiring, number orequipment changes), behind all the

hype, jargon and acronyms, this newintegrated IP network will offer greatlyenhanced bandwidth and increasedspeed. Just a few examples of thebusiness benefits of 21CN include:faster connections with the services inthe 'cloud’, faster video streaming andimproved mobile access.

Protecting voice quality – a subjectclose to our hearts

The NGN PSTN migration will seephone calls run over an IP network‘backbone’. And though there will begreater bandwidth for all uses, fromdata to video, it's vitally important formost businesses that the quality ofthe calls they make and receive ismaintained.

As a communication solutionsprovider with a background firmly in the voice arena, we're very wellpositioned to enable you to achieveand maintain the quality of yourvoice traffic.

Technical Director at Bistech, RichardHolbrook, comments, 'We're acutelyaware of the importance to every kind of organisation of people simply being able to talk to people. Therefore, one of our key tasks whenimplementing a communicationssolution for our customers is to get it right first time, so that it delivers a robust voice service as part of their overall package.'

Opportunities and threats

While there's no doubt that the move tothe New Generation Network providesevery business with a great opportunityto leverage operational benefits fromtheir communications, there are alsoconcerns that as phone calls will travelover a dedicated IP network, newsecurity issues may emerge.

As you may have already seen, wecover security and toll fraud elsewherein this issue of Inside Track. So, we canhelp your enterprise take advantage ofthe opportunities that today’s marketoffers, whilst ensuring that you protectyour enterprise from any potentialsecurity issues at the same time.

inside track Business Technology Update

Protecting voice quality – a subject close to our hearts

09bistech.co.uk

10

Perfectly suitedto your businessAny change to the way your organisationcommunicates internally and externallycan be time and budget consuming; itcan also be problematic for yourreputation and blood pressure.

Clearly, the right communicationsolutions partner is vital. So, here is a shortlist of just 8 questions werecommend you ask of a potentialsupplier:

1. What's the company's experience of converged solutions?The convergence of voice and data iswhere the real operational and financialbenefits lie, so you need a partner whocan help you fully leverage it.

2. Is the company's background invoice or data?A converged solution should enable youto realise maximum connectivity for bothvoice and data in terms of cost and use.Partners with specialist expertise in thevoice arena will fully recognise thebusiness critical nature of telephonecommunications.

3. What recommendations would thecompany have for providing aconverged solution?Is your potential partner putting forwardthe solution that's a best fit for you or for them?

4. How does the company choose itsown technology partners?Any independent solutions providershould be able to demonstrate theirindependence and the breadth ofpartners they can call upon, so theirsolution can be tailored to your precisebusiness needs.

5. What is the company's experienceof implementing VoIP solutions?Although conceptually VoIP has beenaround for many years, with a fewsuppliers working with it since the early '90s, most are more recent and opportunist entrants. This lack of experience can have a detrimentalimpact on you achieving a smooth,successful implementation and thefuture reliability of your solution'sperformance may be compromised.

6. How does the company addresssecurity and service quality issues?These days security is high oneveryone's agenda. It is, therefore,essential to reassure yourself of theintegrity of any solution offered and its provider, so that your businessperformance and operations are notcompromised.

7. How scalable is the solution thecompany offers?If the solution you are offered consists of various systems 'bolted together' it canbe difficult to evolve and expand later.This can actually impeed the expansionof your business. Look for a tailored,elegant solution design that is simpleand cost effective to grow and change as your organisation does.

8. Is the solution the companyrecommends specifically designed for the smaller or medium sizedbusiness – or is it a scaled downenterprise product?You need to know, from the outset, thatwhat's being offered has been designed

bistech.co.uk

11

and built for an organisation of your sizeand tailored to your needs. Not aproduct that's being shrunk to suit you oris being precariously bolted together,where you might encounter problems orpay for features you don't need.

The key to this is that 'bigger isn'tnecessarily better' nor is 'smallnecessarily beautiful.' You need to workwith a partner who can provide the 'fit'you need: between your business andtheirs, and between their recommendedsolution and your requirements todayand tomorrow.

Bistech MD, Jocelyn Brown, comments, ‘At Bistech we work successfully withorganisations big and small in both theprivate and public sector – from startups, SMEs and medical surgeries rightthrough to larger, multi-site businesseswho need an enterprise-wideimplementation. That experience is hard to beat.'

If yournetwork wentdown, wouldyour businessgo with it?

bistech.co.uk

We've never been more reliant on our technology. Today's IT andcommunications infrastructures are now mission critical to manybusinesses. But even globaltechnology giants still succumb towidely-publicised communicationsbreakdowns!

The more we rely on the technology,the more resilient it has to be

As we say in the article on securityand toll fraud elsewhere in thisedition of Inside Track, we can'tguarantee to prevent every potentialproblem or protect you against everyeventuality.

But we can help you plan for thecontinuity of your business, shouldthe worst case scenario come about.

Our aim is 'business as usual'

From floods and computer viruses to a contractor putting a diggerthrough a power cable, our objectiveis to enable your business to continueto do business.

Clearly much depends on the size, scale and operations of your enterprisebut if you'd like to know more about theways we can help you safeguard thecontinuity of your business, please justcall us on 01202 863200.

our team...is your team

Bournemouth 01202 863234Birmingham 01212 331338Bristol 01179 715627Cardif 02920 395973Edinburgh 01312 205309

Exeter 01392 499844Isle of Wight 01983 522003London 0207 6290455Manchester 01612 379559International 0207 6290455 bistech.co.uk