If a retailer took 30 days to deliver your e-commerce order, you’d probably never buy from them again.
Yet 30 days has been the accepted industry standard – and, in many cases, accepted as best-in-class – to deliver high-capacity network bandwidth for… well, far too long, according to Aaron Werley, Zayo’s Senior VP of Engineering.
“Probably one of the biggest challenges in our industry is the consistency and reliability of delivering services. Sometimes you can order a service and get it in 30 days, other times it might take months,” says Werley.
It’s a huge pain point for customers: rapid service activation was ranked as the most important feature by buyers of high-capacity network services polled in an OMDIA survey.
In a future where enterprises increasingly rely on network providers to quickly turn up capacity, the typical 30-day interval won’t cut it. As Zayo’s Chief Technology Officer, Nikos Katinaskis, puts it, “[Customers] want everything faster. They want everything yesterday. And when their demands appear in their network, they want to be able to turn around and say I would like a 400G connection. Can I get it in a couple of days? And that’s what we’re implementing.” That’s why Zayo is aiming higher by deploying automation technologies to:
- Reduce service delivery intervals
- Provide a seamless ordering experience through Tranzact with reliable network delivery
- Proactively plan for future capacity and infrastructure needs
Rapid, Reliable Network Delivery
By automating key parts of the network delivery process, Zayo’s Waves On Demand cuts delivery time from the traditional 30-day standard to just 24 hours on select routes. Placing a wavelength order takes mere minutes.
“Customers have a link to download their LOA/CFA (Letter of Authorization and Connecting Facility Assignment). They get a KMZ of the route, then they get test results – all before ever leaving the web page. It’s pretty incredible, and we believe it’s the first and only experience of that kind in the industry,” Werley says proudly.
Besides speed, automation also brings greater accuracy and reliability to the network provisioning and activation process.
When you take the human error element out of the delivery process, the chances of having issues at the time of turn-up is significantly reduced as well.
“When you take the human error element out of the delivery process, the chances of having issues at the time of turn-up is significantly reduced as well. Having it delivered quickly and consistently is one thing. But also having it work when you move people into a market and activate connectivity, that’s highly impactful as well,” says Werley.
Imagine ordering bandwidth as easily and quickly as you shop for clothes online. With Zayo, it’s that simple. Our proactive network capacity investments and automated systems allow you to get connected in minutes, not weeks.
By strategically deploying capacity across vital data centers and PoPs (Points-of-Presence) in advance of a customer’s order, Zayo delivers bandwidth with unprecedented speed and agility. This enables businesses to launch new services, scale operations, and respond to market demands faster than ever before.
Zayo’s innovative solutions are revolutionizing bandwidth delivery:
- Waves On Demand: Cuts delivery time for high-capacity wavelengths from the traditional 30-day standard to just 24 hours, while offering flexible bandwidth options.
- CloudLink: Establishes a private connection over Ethernet to AWS in just five minutes, empowering businesses to optimize their cloud strategies.
Future-forward Planning
Businesses need enough bandwidth to rapidly respond to changing market conditions and customer demands – not just today, but tomorrow. To stay ahead of future capacity needs, Zayo taps into data and automation.
Remember the automated network delivery service we talked about earlier? The real time data from that process helps Zayo:
- Measure current consumption rates
- Predict which orders in the funnel will need more support
- Accurately optimize capacity planning for the future
“For fiber overbuilds and long haul optical line system deployments, you’re going to be kicking off major projects potentially with construction, significant deployment requirements, and PoP overbuilds or adds. So having that visibility as early as possible ensures that you don’t find yourself constrained for capacity,” says Werley.
With accurate, timely data on hand, Zayo can make the most cost-effective decisions about when and where to invest in new infrastructure for the greatest ROI.
“We don’t live in a limitless capital environment; we all operate within a budget,” Werley notes. “But when you have access to this data, you can see where your demand has been and where you’ve got demand in your funnel. You can make well-informed decisions on where you can apply your capital from a capacity planning perspective, in terms of what’s going to provide the best bang for the buck.”
Zayo’s automation will provide a 360-degree view of network performance and consumption, predict problems before they arise, and anticipate our customers’ needs. Much like the simplicity of ordering a sweater online, Zayo aims to deliver the network capacity and services you need exactly when you need them, with ease and reliability.