Tell you the best choose for your company’s network
When choosing routers for your company’s network, which brand should you select? While several manufacturers are available, the absolutely, positively best choice is Cisco. Here are some reasons why:
1. Maintainability
Since its creation in 1984, Cisco has been dedicated to customer service. Specifically, it has focused on providing its customers with the network solutions that they need. Supplying their customers with quality routers is only one way that the company strives to accomplish that goal. Interestingly, the company’s founding was based on a husband and wife’s inability to e-mail each other from separate buildings at Standard University. It resulted in their creating multi-protocol routers. This was just the beginning of their commitment to customer service, through finding solutions to its customers’ needs.
2. Durability
The ability to handle high network loads is definitely one of the top benefits of Cisco routers over other companies’ versions. When network traffic is heavy at your company, it’s crucial that you have top-of-the-line equipment to handle the load. Alternative versions might be unable to handle such situations. But if you choose one a model from the leading manufacturer, then that won’t be a problem.
3. Compatibility
Cisco has everything to connect your company to the Internet, and to connect it through an intranet. One of the main benefits of choosing one of their routers is that you’ll be choosing parts that can be part of Cisco integrated system. When creating a network, this option is much more practical and reliable than creating a network that contains a hodgepodge of components from different manufacturers. When you opt for a router from the leading manufacturer, compatibility should be straightforward and you should have a network perfectly suited for your needs.
4. Availability
Cisco is one of the largest technology companies in the world. Is bigger better? In this case, being larger provides benefits. First, there’s the availability of Cisco networking components themselves-such. This means that there’s a high availability of their products wherever you shop for your Networking components. Another benefit of choosing to buy your router from them is that you won’t be left high and dry after purchase.
If you have questions or issues, then you can be assured that the network of specialists and maintenance teams will be on hand to provide assistance. Due to the size of the company and the popularity of products, this support network is significantly larger than you’d find with most other manufacturers.
5. Versatility
When Cisco was founded, it was innovative in creating multi-protocol routers for its customers. That situation changed due to the increased use of the Internet Protocol (IP). Today, their most popular routers are designed to transfer IP packets. However, it’s important to note that Cisco provides its customers with a wide array of routers to choose from. That means that it’s highly likely that they can supply your company’s network with the routers it needs. Essentially, the company’s prime focus is intent on supplying its customers with the equipment that will help the network to function as smoothly as possible.
When choosing routers for your company’s network, you should certainly consider those from Cisco. Not only is it one of the largest technology corporations in the world, but it also supplies the best routers.
For business, a maintenance contract for a Cisco router is the only way that they can upgrade their operating system, other than purchasing the upgrades as they come out. The SMARTnet contract which is available for the routers has updates as they are available and can be downloaded. This plan is available in two types – the ‘software only’ version and the ‘hardware and software’ version.
When purchasing the ‘software only’ version the updates are available from Cisco as they are released. With the ‘hardware and software’ version, if something should happen to the hardware and Cisco agrees that it is broken, they will replace it. This contract is available in two versions, SMARTnet Base and the SMARTnet Onsite, both of which will replace faulty hardware.
However, SMARTnet Base ships the replacement to your business and you must either install it or find someone to do so. The SMARTnet Onsite plan will send someone to install the hardware for you. The hardware will either be sent to you or the installer will bring it when they come to install it. Both are called Advance Replacement because they are sent before the faulty hardware is returned to Cisco.
A business that depends on their Cisco equipment should purchase one of the plans if for no other reason, then for the upgrades that are available. This reduces the need to purchase them every time there is an upgrade. In addition, if by chance there is a hardware failure, the need to purchase another system is not necessary.
Two periods of coverage for support are sold and this is the period of time that you can report a problem to Cisco. The least amount of time is the 8 x 5 plan and this covers 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. If a plan is needed for reporting a problem on an extended basis, there is a plan that allows reporting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
There are three time periods available for shipment of replacement parts. One is called Next Business Day (NBD) or Same Day Ship (SDS) which allows you to get the replacement the next day. For businesses to be down due to a hardware problem, this can be incredibly detrimental for business. Therefore there are also the options of replacement in 4 hours or 2 hours. This will depend on the area of the country your business is located.
Cisco has a technical support program, the Technical Assistance Centre (TAC) which provides support for their products. They are located in many places around the world, which is part of their ‘follow the sun’ support. What this means for business is that no matter what time of day or night; you can still talk to a support tech. If you are having networking problems, assistance is provided by a knowledgeable technician from the TAC, who will get the problem solved.
The coverage plan prices are dependent on the category of the hardware. Each one is assigned a number from 1 to 18. The higher the number the higher the amount of coverage costs. The choice of acquiring any of the plans is of course up to the individual business. However, when time is of the essence for getting your business back up and running, it makes sense to have a maintenance plan for your Cisco router.