Integrating new technologies into an existing communications network can pose a number of challenges. How can you be sure that business critical applications are not affected? Will your existing resources cope?
As part of NEC’s Managed Services and Solutions, NEC’s technology centre provides a range of services to assist in the evaluation, testing, staging and user training aspects of new technology projects. We can ensure the transition is smooth, and that your business requirements are met.
NEC’s technology centre is located in Melbourne, Victoria, and is one of three global research and development centres for the NEC Corporation worldwide. Our company invests more than AUD$40million per annum in local technology development, and our staff are highly experienced in testing and integrating a wide range of new technologies.
Solution assurance services
NEC ensures that its Managed Services and solutions provide the business results you require. In every case, your business results will be dependent upon the technology of the solution and the people and processes of the solution (interacting with the technology).
NEC’s technology centre has the capacity to test:
- technology
- people
- processes.
NEC’s technology centre includes network technology laboratories, server and storage laboratories, large staging and mock up areas in addition to management of office and accommodation space.
Business Continuity Assurance Exercises
An example of where technology, people and processes must be tested on a regular basis is the business continuity/disaster recovery plan.
Today it is well understood that the risk of technology, infrastructure failure, pandemic, or natural disaster should be factored into a company’s strategic plans. Company risk assessors/auditors are expecting to see that these plans exist and be shown to work.
With the NEC technology centre’s network laboratories, virtual server farms, office space and disaster scenario simulators (DSS); the NEC Business Continuity Management/Disaster Recovery Plans can be tested to ensure that:
- the technology operates as expected
- the people know and understand their roles in a disaster
- the procedures operate as expected.
Evaluation of new technology solutions
Wading through the technology that’s available today can be a very time consuming and resource intensive task. NEC has extensive expertise with networking and convergence technology from virtually all major voice and data vendors. Consequently, NEC can offer objective recommendations that help you to make the technology selections that best meet your infrastructure needs and business goals.
Patch and product feature testing
Most technology vendors regularly introduce fixes or new product features via hardware or software upgrades. When this happens, it is important for these new features to be tested to ensure they provide the functionality the business requires and operate compatibly with existing technologies.
However, many organisations lack the resources to undertake such testing. This can mean that new product enhancements are not fully utilised, or even that new features may be upgraded to a live network without testing.
NEC’s Managed Services and Solutions can include facility for the testing of new fixes or features within the NEC Technology Centre across numerous networking scenarios and document the results.
NEC can then distribute and implement tested patches or features in accord with agreed change control processes.