Verizon Business Unveils Cloud-Based Application-Monitoring Tools
SaaS Offering Efficiently Helps Maintain Integrity, Performance of Critical Network-Based Video, Voice and Data Applications
BASKING RIDGE, N.J/PRNewswire/ -- In an economic
environment where demands are high and margins often thin, problems
with critical business applications can quickly turn profits to losses.
With Verizon Business' new Application Assurance service, however,
business customers are better able to keep their network-based business
processes running smoothly and reliably.
The new Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based offering, available in
December to Verizon Private IP customers around the world, enables
customers to efficiently monitor both application and network traffic.
The service provides an enterprisewide view of how applications such
as e-commerce Web sites, voice-over-IP and CRM (customer relationship
management) software are performing and how that performance is
affecting end-users. As a result, customers can quantify the effect of
performance problems.
The new service -- powered by Fluke Networks' Visual Performance
Manager -- is the latest addition to the Verizon Private IP Application
Aware suite of tools, which are designed to help businesses and
government agencies more quickly identify and troubleshoot threats that
could hamper application performance. The enhanced visibility into
voice and data application performance provided by Application
Assurance complements existing Verizon Application Aware tools. These
include Asset Assurance for network device fault management; Dynamic
Bandwidth for bandwidth monitoring, allocation and reporting; WAN
Analysis for overall network reporting; and Provider Edge Statistics
for quality of service and packet-delivery analysis.
"Even as demand grows and networks become more complex, IT leaders
are expected to maintain application performance," said Blair Crump,
group president of worldwide sales with Verizon Business. "Our new
Application Assurance service tracks performance throughout the
extended enterprise and identifies potential vulnerabilities to help IT
managers regain control, safeguard assets, and keep video, voice and
data traffic flowing smoothly."
Since the new cloud-based capability is offered to Private IP
customers via a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, it eliminates the
need for companies to purchase or maintain network-management software
and hardware.
The SaaS delivery model is ideal for small and medium-sized
businesses and large enterprises because services can be purchased a la
carte. As a result, customers can better control costs while attaining
the required levels of security, performance, scalability and
reliability. In addition, customers can gain energy-conservation
benefits by using IT resources (connectivity, server and storage) on an
as-needed basis.
Data and reports collected by the service's platform are provided through the Verizon Enterprise Center customer portal.
"Verizon Business' Application Assurance helped us identify a
potential bottleneck on our mobile VSAT disaster recovery network,"
said Frank Lonegro of CSX Corp., which tested the product earlier this
year as part of the company's annual disaster recovery exercise. "Once
the issue was resolved, we were able to successfully complete 64
concurrent VoIP calls between our mobile VSAT network and our servers
located several states away. Every application is mission critical when
you are in the railroad business, which has trains running 24 hours a
day; and network monitoring and reporting mechanisms such as
Application Assurance are important tools to have to ensure business
continuity."
Scott Allen, vice president of marketing for the systems business
with Fluke Networks, said, "Verizon recognized its customer's critical
need for application performance and network usage visibility across
the transport and approached Fluke Networks for an industry-unique
combination of product capabilities and a SaaS delivery model. We are
excited to work with Verizon to deliver this industry leading service."
Application Assurance provides a powerful combination of passive
network monitoring -- which allows for real-time tracking of who is
using an application, for what purpose, when and where -- and active
monitoring, which employs customized software agents to generate
synthetic network traffic for measuring network availability and
performance. The flexible and cost-effective SaaS delivery model makes
it simple to deploy Application Assurance when and where needed. In
addition, both short-term and long-term service contracts are available.
"Businesses are leveraging advanced collaboration technologies that
integrate voice, video, and data to connect increasingly dispersed
extended enterprise ecosystems and improve productivity and
efficiency," said Melanie Posey, research director at IDC. "However,
today's complex transaction and communications-oriented network
environments create management challenges for enterprises that are also
focused on refining their business models to keep pace with
competitors. Verizon's new Application Assurance offering provides
continuous monitoring that identifies potential network threats,
delivers in-depth reports, and helps IT managers ensure smooth network
traffic flows and maintain control over the network."
Verizon Business' Private IP service, the company's MPLS-based Layer
3 Virtual Private Network available to customers in 121 countries and
territories, is an optimal platform for converged services. Private IP
service allows for prioritization of applications via six classes of
service (CoS), enabling critical applications such as immersive video
and e-commerce to receive a higher priority across the organization's
network.
Verizon Business is a recognized leader in delivering advanced
communications and information technology (IT) solutions to government
agencies and large-business customers around the world. Earlier this
year, the company was ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction
among large enterprises for both data and voice services by J.D. Power
and Associates in its annual study of home-based, small to mid-sized
and large-enterprise customers.
In the annual study, J.D. Power and Associates determined that
Verizon Business ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Large
Enterprise Data and Business Voice Service Providers." Study factors
used to measure satisfaction included performance and reliability,
sales representatives/account executives, billing, cost of service,
customer service and offerings and promotions.
J.D. Power and Associates Disclaimer: Verizon Business received the
highest numerical score among data and voice service providers in the
proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Major Provider Business
Telecommunications Services Study - Data Services and Voice
Services(SM). U.S. home-based, small to mid-sized and large-enterprise
business customers were surveyed to measure customer satisfaction with
providers of telecommunications data services such as cable modem, DSL,
T1, T3/DS3, IP-based networks for VPNs, Ethernet services,
videoconferencing applications, Web site hosting and managed services,
and voice services such as voice-over-IP (VoIP), call center
technologies, toll-free services, voicemail/voice messaging, Centrex
services, call forwarding, and local and long distance services. The
surveys were conducted in January and April 2009.
About Verizon Business
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)
, is a global leader in communications and IT solutions. We combine
professional expertise with one of the world's most connected IP
networks to deliver award-winning communications, IT, information
security and network solutions. We securely connect today's extended
enterprises of widespread and mobile customers, partners, suppliers and
employees - enabling them to increase productivity and efficiency and
help preserve the environment. Many of the world's largest businesses
and governments - including 96 percent of the Fortune 1000 and
thousands of government agencies and educational institutions - rely on
our professional and managed services and network technologies to
accelerate their business. Find out more at www.verizonbusiness.com.
VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive
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Source: Verizon Business
CONTACT: U.S.: Maria Montenegro, +1-703-886-6063,
Maria.montenegro@verizon.com; Europe: Clare Ward, +44 (0) 118 905 3501,
clare.ward@uk.verizonbusiness.com; Asia Pacific: Junaidah Dahlan, +65 6248
6827, junaidah.dahlan@sg.verizonbusiness.com
Web Site: http://www.verizonbusiness.com/
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