Although emulation has been available to large firms for some time, by offering it on an affordable “testing as a service” (TaaS) packaged basis, Networks First is able to provide businesses with a thorough proof of concept testing environment on their own premises and finally bring this best practice approach within the reach of SMEs and smaller public sector bodies.
The Transformation Testing Service will enable organisations to prove user experience prior to “real-world” transition by emulating how a new network configuration will perform before committing resources to a full deployment. The service will allow organisations to fully stress test the viability of different bandwidth services, monitoring how disrupting factors would affect network operation and user experience and measuring application and user response times.
John Ashley, CIO at Sports Direct, the UK’s number one sports retailer, explains: “The user experience, for both the employee and customer, is extremely important to us. Comprehensive testing prior to the roll-out of applications across our branch sites would allow us to investigate and resolve any problems prior to launch. This service would greatly assist in mitigating the risk of downtime, something which we as a 24x7 business cannot afford.”
The new service – which is able to emulate any public or private network – uses a toolset provided by iTrinegy which is scaled to meet your business requirements. The service will be of particular advantage to companies wishing to move key applications to an off-site data centre, introduce a more mobile workforce, integrate new applications on to the WAN or make the transition to a Cloud or Virtual environment. It will also prove invaluable to companies requiring greater budget control by allowing the right-sizing of WAN services.
Sara Gemmell, Networks First’s managing director explains: “Many organisations are having to make major changes to their IT infrastructure and the WAN, either as a result of budget cuts or organisational change. Whilst any change carries risk, this service will enable firms to emulate how their infrastructure will perform under new conditions, thereby protecting against spiralling repair and redesign costs which could otherwise arise if the new infrastructure configuration doesn’t perform as expected.
”The current economic climate dictates that major network changes such as a move into the cloud or towards virtualisation, are often driven by a desire to benefit from cost savings. With IT departments still exercising caution around spending, this service is designed to provide businesses with the endpoint visibility required to reap the benefits of application or infrastructure based transformations, without the traditional risk and associated cost.”
Frank Puranik, CTO of iTrinegy comments: “We are delighted that Networks First has chosen iTrinegy to be its Technology Provider Partner to facilitate the provision of its Transformation Testing Service. I believe that the combination of Networks First’s expertise in the delivery of professional services and our INE network profiling and network emulation technology will be a powerful force for ensuring the successful implementation of the IT transformations that organisations need to undertake.”