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Advanced
How To Guide
Choosing an ISP and a Telecommunication Method
Co-location
This is where you locate your own dedicated server
in the network operations centre or web farm of your
ISP. You rent space, connectivity, power and cabinets
to host your server. This is generally more suitable
for a company that already has dedicated IT staff in-house,
as much of the day-to-day maintenance of the server
will fall back on you.
Managed Services
In a managed services situation your ISP takes full
control of your server. Some ISPs also offer a virtual
server service, which enables you to have dedicated
space on a server that will also host data from other
companies. This is a useful service for companies starting
out, as you should be able to quickly scale up to your
own server if required.
Support
ISPs primarily provide technical support over the
phone. Depending on your ISP this support may only be
available during business hours or it may extend into
the evening. If you have critical business applications
running over your Internet connection you should ensure
you have an after hours number to contact your ISP.
Web-based and email support are also becoming increasingly
popular. Your ISP should at the very least provide details
of how to configure your email and web access, giving
relevant settings such as server, SMTP and POP addresses.
Your ISP may also offer tiered levels of support e.g.
bronze, silver and gold, with different costs associated
with different levels of support. Consider the cost
to your business of being without Internet access for
an hour and you should get an indication of what level
of support you require.
Your ISP should also provide you with an SLA [Service
Level Agreement], which will outline exactly what levels
of service they are committing to (e.g. 99.9% uptime
of your leased line) and what the penalties are if they
fail to meet those levels.
E-commerce
Your ISP should be able to support you in the use of
e-commerce on your site. There are many different forms
this can take. The ISP may develop an application that
you run on your own servers. They may already have an
off-the- shelf package that they can provide you with.
A third model is where your ISP provides an e-commerce
capability as a service - this is known as being an
application service provider (ASP).
If you are considering using a particular ISP for an
e-commerce project you should ask to see evidence of
their previous work in this area. Ask to speak to existing
customers - what has their experience been like and
have they felt they were properly supported by their
ISP?
Security
Once you start making use of the Internet you are
exposing your company network to potential security
threats. You will need to invest in anti-virus software
and ensure this is regularly updated to catch the latest
viruses.
In addition you should also install firewall software
as this limits the type of traffic that can access your
network from the Internet . In theory this should stop
any malicious attacks on your network. A firewall is
particularly important if your company uses a leased
line or any connection to your ISP that is left open.
Most ISPs will advise on the set-up and configuration
of a firewall and any other security software you might
need.
Costs
As in any business, costs for Internet services vary
considerably between different providers. The cheapest
provider is not always the one that will serve your
business best. Based on the information in this document
you should be able to ask pertinent questions about
the services your ISP will provide. Shop around, particularly
amongst the members of recognised industry associations
such as the Irish Internet Association (www.iia.ie)
and the Internet Service Provider Association of Ireland
(www.ispai.ie).
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