How to get Cloud QoS over the Public Internet

I was on a training webinar today with one of our service providers, bored, checking email, hearing them talk about the same ‘ol stuff, deciding if I should just jump ship and move on with my day… When I heard them say something I had never heard before…

Within 5 minutes, I learned about a groundbreaking technology that this provider is now offering. Why didn’t they tell me earlier? Did they not know how awesome this is?

I immediately emailed my sales manager from the provider and asked him to email me more info so I could write a blog to tell more IT Pros about this.

THIS IS SO COOL!

You may not be looking at a cloud application today but read this anyway. It’s good information to keep in the back of your head, in terms of “what is possible.”

The Scenario

You, the Systems Admin/IT Director, want to deploy a cloud service (such as Desktop as a Service or Hosted VoIP), but you are worried about the same top 6 concerns:

1. Finding a good provider
2. Security
3. Bandwidth
4. QoS
5. Uptime
6. Contractual obligations with your current ISP

The Solution

This cloud provider will bring a bandwidth aggregator device to your location, which will allow you to connect and aggregate multiple 3rd party ISP connections, such as Business-Class Coax Cable, Fiber, EoC, 4G Cellular, Fixed Wireless, T1, etc.

That alone is pretty cool. You will not have to break your contract with your current ISP and you can also have your cloud traffic reach its host over the fastest route.

Ok, so many of us have heard a device like that before. BUT here is where it gets interesting.

Since it is your cloud provider who is supplying the aggregator device (as opposed to a device that your company purchased independently), this cloud provider will also give guaranteed bi-directional QoS for the cloud application you are purchasing from them (i.e. Hosted VoIP, DaaS, DR, etc.). They are so confident in the success of their intelligent bandwidth aggregator …over the PUBLIC Internet… that they will guarantee (in writing), voice quality, latency levels, etc.

They will also allow you to connect to their cloud platform via a secure IPsec VPN tunnel.

Just in case you weren’t aware, until today, Cloud Providers NEVER gave you GUARANTEED QoS if you were connecting to them over a 3rd party ISP (i.e. Bring your own bandwidth or BYOB). The key term is guaranteed, in-writing. Before this product, guaranteed QoS was ONLY possible if you were connecting to your cloud provider through a private WAN connection, like MPLS.

6 Concerns All Resolved

Each of those 6 concerns just got resolved.

1. Finding a good provider: Resolved. This is a reputable, long-standing cloud provider.
2. Security: Resolved. You are connecting over a VPN and their cloud data centers are 10x more secure than any mid-size companies could ever afford.
3. Bandwidth: Resolved. You can use a myriad of high speed, low cost Internet connections and the bandwidth aggregator will always find the fastest route.
4. QoS: Resolved. They put it in writing.
5. Uptime: Resolved. The bandwidth aggregator will allow your traffic to continue, uninterrupted if one of the connections fail. The cloud provider is also mirroring your application internally, in multiple data centers, giving you more redundancy than most companies could ever afford to do, internally.
6. Contractual obligations with your current ISP: Resolved. You can keep your existing ISP and still get QoS.

I know I get a little too excited about new cloud products but you have to admit that this is something new and useful.

Don’t ever let it be said that I don’t keep you people up to speed on the cool stuff that I’m seeing!

What questions or concerns do you Sys Admins, IT Directors and CIO’s still have about a service like this? I’d love to hear from the source.

Want an AeroCom expert to send you a quote from this provider? Click here!

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About the Author
Mike Smith is the Founder and President of AeroCom and has been immersed in the business telecom and cloud industry since 1999. He has been the recipient of numerous industry awards and in 2011, he was honored as one of the top 40 business people in Orange County, CA., under 40 years old. Mike is passionate about simplifying the way IT buyers shop and select telecom and cloud solutions for their company. Follow Mike on LinkedIn, Twitter or SpiceWorks.