WAN Services /

The art of carrier negotiations

By Johna Till Johnson
Network World, 05/21/01

When it comes to service quality, most carriers are failing.

"Almost without exception, carriers are not living up to their commitments," says a member of the Wall Street Technology Association, which includes telecom managers from leading financial institutions.

We're not talking rocket science here (or even Multi-protocol Label Switching-enabled VPNs). Carriers are having trouble with the basics: getting circuits provisioned on time; providing business-relevant definitions of uptime; maintaining consistent support from the service provider account team; and, of course, delivering accurate and timely bills.

What's a telecom manager to do? While there's no easy answer, here are some tried-and-true processes that will help ensure your company gets the best possible services.

Start by recognizing that carrier contract management isn't something that happens just at contract-renewal time. Getting top-tier service requires users to plan for every stage of the service-acquisition life cycle.

That means thoroughly understanding your business requirements and the applications that will be running across the WAN. For example, an interactive sales-automation application might require extremely low latencies to function effectively (particularly if it's based on an antiquated two-tier architecture). That tells you something about the service-level agreement (SLA) requirements you'll need.

Next, carefully research prospective providers. Both traditional and "New Age" providers are undergoing tremendous upheaval as they roll out new technologies and revamp their business models. Be sure they're fully funded and staffed with plenty of technical expertise.

And make a point of understanding dependencies: If that whiz-bang, new Lambda service requires trenching fiber and deploying a bleeding-edge metropolitan-area switch, you probably won't get it within the next 30 days, no matter what the provider says.

Then pull together your team. Successfully turning up services requires three skill sets: negotiation savvy, technical expertise and project management. Many companies have top-tier negotiators in their purchasing departments - get them engaged early, even if these individuals have little networking expertise. Telecom managers can often learn from the folks who've spent decades driving discounts out of mainframe manufacturers and software behemoths. Technical expertise is critical for validating proposed solutions and crafting effective SLAs. And lastly, solid project management helps keep the service providers on track regarding deadlines.

Now you're ready for the most important part: defining the successful project outcome. What are your goals in terms of price, service quality and provisioning time frames? What are your must-haves, and where can you be flexible? Knowing your priorities increases your chances of crafting a successful contract.

What should that contract look like? Stay tuned. In my June 4 column, I'll explore the ins and outs of effective contract structuring.