Web 2.0 telecommunications management dashboard

May 2008 - Macquarie Telecom Launches Australia’s first multi-carrier Web 2.0 telecommunications management dashboard

Key facts

• New Web 2.0 application gives Business and Government users greater control of voice, mobile and data networks and hosted managed services (including if a customer uses multiple carriers)
• CNBC Asia, Australian mobile content provider Loop Mobile and Australia's largest helicopter fleet operator Bristow Helicopters Pty Ltd beta tested the solution and have now signed on as customers (see quotes on benefits)
•  According to IDC, as data continues to grow exponentially, organisations need to rush the implementation of new tools and standards to manage the security, performance and up-time of their network environments
• The Web 2.0 dashboard gives big business control to medium sized organisations
• Network and Hosting Management module, InView, is available today. Specifically targeted at network administrators and server managers it extends management capabilities from the core to the edge of the network, allowing them to plan, monitor and troubleshoot data networks and hosting services infrastructure. InView provides the detailed information needed to quickly isolate issues and develop solutions.

Macquarie Telecom today launched Australia's first multi-carrier, Web 2.0 telecommunications management dashboard, MacquarieView. The dashboard gives Business and Government customers a web-based application to access detailed information about their voice, mobile and data networks, and hosted-managed services from any Internet-enabled device.

The integrated dashboard is multi-carrier to allow control of all services managed by Macquarie Telecom, regardless of provider. It allows customers to manage network performance, orders, bills, faults, alerts across all Macquarie Telecom voice, mobile, data and hosting services.

“For customers that have moved to a distributed network model for delivery of their telecommunications and business services, the Web 2.0 dashboard gives much greater control over and management of their services,” said Chris Greig, Group Executive, Marketing, Product Development and Alliances, Macquarie Telecom.

The dashboard can be accessed from any device with an Internet connection which gives even greater flexibility. For example, an IT manager can troubleshoot performance levels of their data network from their laptop in the waiting lounge of an airport.

MacquarieView can be fully customised to meet the differing needs of businesses and individual users from office administrators reconciling accounts to the most technical network or server administrator requiring real-time CPU utilisation graphs.

For Business and Government this means increased cost control and operational efficiency which in turn leads to greater return on investment across their entire telecommunications, data network and hosted infrastructure.

Customers gain greater visibility and control

CNBC Asia, Australian mobile content provider Loop Mobile and Australia's largest helicopter fleet operator Bristow Helicopters Pty Ltd are already using the service.

George Tucker, Senior Developer from Loop Mobile said, "The reality of my role is that I am time poor, suffering under a skills shortage and have to manage multiple applications and devices across my network as well as my CAPEX. This means I can't afford to do the proactive things I would like to do to improve operations across our business.

"The Web 2.0 dashboard that MacquarieView delivers addresses these issues for me. I log-in via a single sign-on and see an exact snapshot of how my managed services are performing.  This allows me to make more informed decisions and maintain proactive management of my assets."

Management tools only way to gain control of spiralling costs and growing assets

According to IDC, as data continues to grow exponentially, organisations need to rush the implementation of new tools and standards to manage the security, performance and up-time of their network environments. Remaining flexible, agile and scalable is critical.

"Management tools are a logical solution to stay on the front-foot as data, IP networks and telecommunications requirements become more complex and critical. To date, they have been designed primarily for the 'top-end' of the market and have been largely out of reach for the average Australian business," said Greig.

Designed for mid-sized businesses with between 100 to 1,500 employees, MacquarieView is available to customers throughout Australia and to multi-national organisations that run global IP networks through Macquarie Telecom's Singapore office.

InView Network Management module - extends management capability from the core to the edge of the network

The functionality of MacquarieView is further extended across the entire network via four web-based modules, the first of which, InView, is available today.

Specifically designed to help network administrators and server managers plan, monitor and troubleshoot data networks and hosting services infrastructure, InView provides the detailed information needed to quickly isolate issues and develop solutions. For example, in one screen, users can monitor everything from network traffic volumes to server availability, memory and disk usage and even the number of email users connected to an Exchange Server and the number of SQL transactions being served.

Information is presented in a concise, graphical manner. Configurable alert thresholds help maintain desired performance levels. Customised trending and performance reports help identify and support network requirements.

The three remaining applications are due to go live in the coming months.

Read more about InView Network and Server Management Technical Specifications