We are starting a new documentary series called Inside The Cloud. This is where we tour various Cloud facilities and report on what’s inside.
Have you ever wondered what happens inside The Cloud? We hear a lot of hype about the versatility and resilience of The Cloud. However, as you know, The Cloud is a mystery. What actually goes on inside their facilities?
There are many moving parts to The Cloud. First and foremost you have the Data Center. This is a facility which houses the equipment that provides services in The Cloud, as well as the Internet and phone line connections used by the equipment. A good Cloud provider has multiple redundant data centers, so that if one entire location were to fail, another data center in another city is available to immediately take over its services. The Data Center is the heart of The Cloud. This is where it all happens.
Next you have the NOC – Network Operations Center. A Cloud provider’s NOC is like NORAD for The Cloud. You have lots of people with lots of computer screens on their desks, and giant monitors on the walls displaying various geographic renderings in various levels of magnification. I recently toured the NOC facility for Enqwest, one of our valued Cloud partners in Fairfield, New Jersey. It was a very exciting experience. I met Calvin, one of their senior NOC administrators, who gave me a tour of what happens inside his corner of the NOC. He had several large monitors mounted on the wall. One of them had a map of the United States which had icons all over it, indicating customer locations in various states of alert status. Calvin zoomed into the map to display the status of a customer in Beverly Hills, California. The map showed the GPS location of this customer, including a street map. I was able to see all the details of the VoIP router at that location. I could see which Internet provider was delivering service, what its IP Address is, as well as whether or not they had a backup Internet provider. I could also see how many phones they had deployed, their respective MAC Addresses, as well as their current state. I could see that the service was running smoothly with no alarms present. Should there be any issues, their onsite equipment, such as the router and/or phones, can be reprogrammed and even rebooted directly from the NOC console in New Jersey! Think of the NOC as the brain of The Cloud. This is where important decisions are made to keep your service running smoothly 24x7x365.
Finally, you have the Contact Center. This is a very integral part of the entire operation. The Contact Center is the point of contact between the customer and provider. This is where we, the customers, interact with The Cloud provider for support on our services. When things go wrong or when we just want to make a change to our account, the Contact Center is there to help us with our needs. You can think of the Contact Center as the ears and mouth of The Cloud. This component helps us feel safe that there is someone on the other end looking out for our best interests.
I hope this has been helpful in demystifying The Cloud, and introducing you to its various moving parts.
A little bit about SimiPlex. SimiPlex Technologies helps businesses save time and money by ensuring they have the right technology in place to effectively optimize their business communications. We are a one stop provider for all your communications needs. Our vision is to help businesses, throughout the world, leverage the benefits of the latest in technology, while ensuring a simple and smooth transition throughout the entire process. Our mission is to help businesses connect to the world with ease. SimiPlex Technologies was founded on the premise of being completely customer focused. Besides our expertise and proven state of the art product line, our entire focus is on you, the customer, and helping you solve your business problems. We take the time to listen to your needs, and offer suggestions on how to assist you in fulfilling those needs. We are not aligned with any specific vendor or carrier. We suggest solutions that can fulfill your needs, from the vendor or carrier who is the best fit for your business. Our premier concierge service will leave you feeling pampered and well taken care of.
The following statement sums up our differentiator: Our value is NOT just in the manpower, or the Product Knowledge. Our industry has many organizations who might provide it. Our true value and differentiation is in our Time Proven World Class Methodology that provides consistent results, and removes the risk to you, our valued customer. We are here to SERVE. We are here to serve YOU!
As Steve Jobs once said, “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people just aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”
We, at SimiPlex Technologies, are the yardstick of quality.
To learn more about how we can help you with your communications needs, visit our website at http://www.simiplex.com, or call us at (212) 372-9847.
simiplex 