Posts tagged Verizon Business
Another Raving Fan….
Jun 12th
Intelletrace has delivered many services to Equinix Data Centers to our customers worldwide. Many clients of Equinix have seen why Intelletrace has continued to win over clients and deliver “out of the box” solutions. Equinix has seen why Intelletrace is a pleasure to work with. In the past, the IT manager would have to fight the carriers and continually follow up to hit their deadlines. This experience with a new carrier was a risk, but it paid off in great dividends. First, Intelletrace researched and provided for multiple carriers, to ensure Equinix got the diversity they needed. Not only was Equinix thrilled with the competitive pricing, but they loved the idea of one contract to sign, one invoice, one point of contact for install updates and support. Intelletrace first chose XO Communications and Verizon Business has the two carriers to meet Equinix’s needs. Equinix had a scheduled move in date which was 60 days out. Seems very reasonable, right? Well, if you have ordered Ethernet services lately with some Carriers, 60 days is next to impossible. I will go more in depth in another blog…
As, the install process moved along, both XO and Verizon Business had problems right away from meeting this 60 day due date. The IT manager was a little concerned, being he has never experienced the “the Intelletrace Way”. Immediately Intelletrace went into action. Intelletrace pushed both Carriers to better the date, at the same Intelletrace was researching other Carriers who can provide competitive pricing and diversity. XO Communications found a different path which provided the capacity to bring in their due dates. Verizon Business, although ON NET end to end, would not bring in their due date. Why??? you guessed it, another blog… Intelletrace was able to work with TWTelecom, to find capacity, confirm the install dates, and get a competitive price. Without the customer being penalized for cancelling the order and without signing new order forms, Intelletrace cancelled the Verizon Business order and went forward with TWTelecom. The work Intelletrace did behind the scenes, saved the customer hours of research and hours of time being spent on phone and emails. He was also thrilled he did not have to go back to his legal or his director to sign new orders forms, and have them question his decisions, on why he was switching providers and paying cancellation charges. The IT manager was thrilled, his due dates were meant and the experience was wonderful. Â If you have experience PAIN recently, maybe is time you take a risk which will pay off in great REWARDS.
Verizon Telecom Merging Networks on the East Coast
Oct 11th
We knew it was going to happen sooner or later. It only makes business sense to do so. Since Verizon Telecom is the dominant Local Exchange Carrier on the East Coast, Verizon is finally merging the processes of Verizon Business with Verizon Telecom.  As a large network service provider for Verizon Business, we are starting to feel the pains of the merger without any warning. Yes, we have felt pains of the layoffs they have had over the years, new people, new products, and new systems. This time around is different.  The legacy MFS network, now Verizon Business, is starting to be merged and provisioned with Verizon Telecom. What does this mean??? In the long run, I am sure it means a higher level of customer service and reliability will come of it. In the short term, it will be painful and frustrating to get the correct people on the phone, making sure the ordering for old Verizon Business services get installed correctly, and most importantly billing is correct. Already, we are seeing orders being put on hold because facilities are not ready for Verizon Telecom, yet Verzion Business has a footprint to the locations with plenty of capacity. This is where our experience comes in handy. Our service delivery department is able to recognize the issues quickly, get the correct people involved, and get the installation back on track immediately.Â
I am sure we will start seeing these same issues as the Qwest and Century Link merger takes place. I already know customers feeling the effects of  AT&T for the past few years, with the merging of networks from SBC to the AT&T Long Distance network. Intelletrace can be a valuable asset to your telecom team and resources, if you are starting to feel frustrated by the Carrier you are working with today.
Do the Right Thing
May 6th
The past few weeks I have spoken about what it takes to be a successful business in the new economy. One of the Carriers I mentioned was Verizon Business. I do want to make note, Verizon Business is one of our largest vendors and when it comes to metro services and Internet services, we highly recommend them to our customers. Verizon Business has often worked with us when issues arise, regarding business downturn, chronic services, and delayed installations. Verizon Business is still a valuable partner and a reason why Intelletrace has been so successful.Â
What is has been going on in the industry over the past two years, many layoffs and moving of people, experience and knowledge at the engineering level is slowly disappearing. As networks evolve, merge, and are groomed, more and more problems seem to be arising without any reason for such an outage given by the Carrier. Carriers are taking days and sometimes weeks before they are figuring out what might have happened. Often time, we hear the problem is fixed, but the Carrier has no reason why the outage may of occurred and cannot really be confident that it will not happen again.  Finding the correct people who understand the network is taking too long.Â
A service provider cannot afford to have such a luxury with a customer. A service provider must act quickly, be proactive, and provide solutions to limit the problem from every happening again. When problems arise, Carriers need to act quicker, stop making excuses, and DO THE RIGHT THING. Stop worrying about contracts and work out a solution so both parties WIN. All Carriers must start acting this way for them to succeed in the new business world and continue to gain market share.
Accountable End to End
Apr 29th
Over the next few weeks, I will be discussing topics which every company must have to succeed in today’s market place. It is part of the Intelletrace message and what differentiate Intelletrace as a service provider from the Carriers.
Being a service provider, Intelletrace cannot afford to pass the buck back to the customer and definitely not over to a Carrier. A Carrier will continue to make excuses and put blame on other forces or even the customer. We work with our customers to always make sure they are happy and have a usable service at a competitive price. Intelletrace takes great pride on being accountable for the services we offer end to end.
Recently, we had an OC3 have constant problems on the Verizon Business network. After the circuit was re-provisioned on their meshed network, constant problems arise. First, the circuit was not automatically switching over to a new route when there was a problem and then it was switching to a path which was 50 percent higher in latency. We found out the hard way, their is no automation in their sonet backbone meshed network, to switch back to the main route.Â
Taking action quickly, Intelletrace quickly searched out a new Carrier to meet our customer’s needs. Even though Intelletrace is still under contract with Verizon Business for this service. We found a Carrier with better latency than Verizon Business at the same price. We are working to turn up the new circuit and get them off the Verizon Business service quickly. Intelletrace is willing to incur short term penalties for long term relationships. I hope the Verizon Business feels the same way.
It reminds me of a great book I read, “The Nordstrom Way”. Nordstrom did not mind customers returning clothing which they might have bought years ago or was even dirty. If the customer was unhappy, they took it back with no questions. Nordstrom just wanted the customer to tell their story to their friends, so they too would start shopping at the customer friendly store, who holds themselves accountable end to end.
Wouldn’t it be nice if all businesses felt this way.
March Madness
Apr 7th
I am a big fan of the NCAA Final Four Tournament. Since I was a kid, I have not missed watching the Final Game on the tube. I remember vividly the games where the underdogs, Villanova and North Carolina State, were able to come through. This year was no different, with a small mid-major school of Butler against Duke. An undergraduate student population of less than 5,000, going up against one the best college basketball schools over the past 30 years. A young coach from Butler, going up against a legend and Hall of Famer. The game lived up to the hype. I got familar with Butler and their story. Soon, I was a big fan and liked what they have brought to the Final Four. Although, Butler fell a basket short, it was a thrilling game to the end.
As I reflected on the game, it reminded me of how the NCAA Final Four tournament, is similar to the business world. Everyday, start ups and small companies are working to make a name for themselves. No longer a start-up, Intelletrace is a small company, playing in the multi-billion dollar industry of telecommunications. We are constantly fighting against the more established Carriers, like AT&T and Verizon Business. People are familiar with their company names and most likely have done business with them in the past. Like Butler, we are constantly working at getting better and looking at ways to be creative. What we always hope for, is establishing a relationship with our customers and having the lost shot. Most of the time the last shot is a slam dunk or an easy lay in.
Really… More than a week?
Jan 27th
How does Level 3 continue to stay in business? We are going on a week of them still not getting back to us on pricing for an Internet circuit that does not leave their own network. Most Carriers have a pricing tool or flat rate pricing for all circuits which are completely are on their network. Verizon Business and Global Crossing make it easy, when we have Internet opportunities at their IP POPs. Both Carriers give us a flat rate and due to our volume, they actually decrease our pricing as we continue to add bandwidth.
Get a hint…Make it easy for people to do business… Sprint kept asking me for years how to get more business from Intelletrace. I had one answer which Sprint could not understand, “Make it easy to price and sell!”. Sprint is still playing catch up with most Carriers.�
Back to Level 3… They are the only Big Carrier who does not have a pricing tool for their services or flat rate pricing. Level 3 continues to fall behind and misses out on opportunities. Level 3 cannot continue to do business this way if they are going to stay around. Verizon Business even gives us flat rate pricing for services which leaves their network. An amazing concept… This enables Intelletrace to turn around quotes quick and most of the time chooses Verizon Business because of this.  People move very fast in telecom. Intelletrace cannot afford to continue waiting for vendors to get back to us, when we expect to get to all of our customers with pricing in 24 hours. Now I do expect pricing for large capacity circuits, such as 2.5gig or 10gig to take a little longer, as this is a new service which has only been around a few years and most backbones are still being built out to accept these type of services easily. Companies must continue to improve their systems and need to move faster if they want to continue to be ahead of their competition and grow in the market place.
The Golden Ticket To WallStreet
Nov 25th
With a spin from Willy Wonka, Verizon Business has been touting their new Golden Route as the quickest connection from Chicago to New York. The financial folks on Wall Street cannot get their information fast enough. Milliseconds can cost or save them millions, depending if you are a Bull or a Bear.  I guess they believe this is their ticket to riches…
Verizon Business is stating roundtrip latency at 17.9ms. From current users of the circuit, we are hearing 18.2ms, is the actual performance. Even at 18.2ms, I believe, this is still the quickest route from Chicago to New York.. Intelletrace is offering some great rates for this route at the 2.5gig and 10gig speed.
Give us a call for more information.
Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.
Marc Alciati
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Industry: Telecommunications
Occupation: President CEO
Location: Novato : CA : United States
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