The Short List: Outsourcing
This Short List highlights the vendors Network World recommends you examine closely when you want to farm out network management, administration or operational support services. While there are hundreds of outsourcers, only those in the chart on page 45 were considered. Moreover, we selected vendors that can take over your entire network or as much of it as you want to give up. Your needs may differ.AT&T Solutions, a wholly owned AT&T subsidiary, is perhaps the vendor par excellence in our chart. The firm has more than 11,000 people devoted to supplying a broad mix of voice, data and video network management outsourcing, systems integration and consulting services in more than 100 offices worldwide. The company more often than not will rehire your staff and acquire your equipment under contract terms, which is good if you want to turn over your entire operation. AT&T Solutions uses a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week remote monitoring and customer support center to keep track of what's happening on the worldwide networks of its client.
IBM Global Network has the experience to meet just about any network management outsourcing, consulting and systems integration need. The firm has around 1,100 employees serving more than 175 clients in about 100 countries. Under the typical contract, the company takes responsibility for managing voice, video and data communication services for a network with around 250 sites. A remote monitoring site is used to ensure the IBM Global Network delivers consistent service levels. The company is committed to making the latest technology available to its clients, as evidenced by its installation of an international ATM network.