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Networks & Infrastructure
Q&A
HOK Sport Venue Event gets IP infusion
Adopts XO’s MPLS IP-VPN solution
by Sean Buckley
Fans attending an American football game at Gillette Stadium (home of the New
England Patriots) or a good soccer match in the UK’s Wembley Stadium
are probably unaware that HOK Sport Venue Event, an architectural design
firm, has left its mark on each.
When conducting the business of architectural design, HOK faces the challenge of transferring large computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD CAM)
files across their various locations. HOK also wants a foundation to
support VoIP when ready. After weighing the options of five major
telecom players for an IP/MPLS VPN solution, it settled on XO
Communications. Telecommunications’ Editor in Chief Sean Buckley talked
with Bobby Johnson, IT network manager at HOK, about how the
company is leveraging XO’s MPLS-based IP VPN service to improve
communications between its five remote offices.
Telecommunications: HOK is an architectural firm with five locations designing stadiums, so what did you need from a network provider to
build out an MPLS-based network?
Johnson: We have some large files from drawings we do for CAD. We
have to be able to transfer those files to other locations and also
internally. We made a decision to get better capabilities in-house and
also from our remote offices: to do more collaboration in software and
applications. First we had to take a look at what vendors provided the
best capability to transfer these files.
Telecommunications: With all the choices out there for telecom services,
how did you settle on XO?
Johnson: We were not an XO customer. We looked at multiple ISP
vendors and [found] out which one had the best solution. We looked at
five vendors, including XO, and found it had the best functionality and
tools we needed.
Telecommunications: When you are looking for a service provider, how
important is responsive customer service?
Johnson: Yes, that was also taken into consideration. What kind of
portal did they have for us to get in and view our Web page; what kind
of tools did they have for the team to use troubleshooting; what kind of
monitoring system did they have; and how good was the customer
service when you called them—and response time?
Telecommunications: VoIP is one of the applications that can be
supported with the new MPLS network. Are you deploying VoIP now, and
what is its value?
Johnson: We built this road to go to VoIP, but we don’t have it fully
functional yet. We have to build the road, so when we do go to VoIP
we’ll be ready.
Telecommunications: Overall, what is the value of having an IP/MPLS
VPN network?
Johnson: Prior to this, we had a small connection between our offices.
There was a huge bottleneck transferring files, and sometimes you
wouldn’t even transfer a file to the other offices. With the addition of
XO, we now can collaborate more with our files and also use
videoconferencing to communicate with our other offices. Having this
connection has improved our productivity with those offices.
Telecommunications: How did the transition go? Where there any issues?
Johnson: With any kind of major network improvement you’re going to
have some delays. We had some delay in deploying it, but overall we’re
very satisfied with getting everything implemented and going live. It
takes time and we worked out those issues and got them resolved.
There’s no switch you can hit and everything works perfectly.
Telecommunications: What is the underlying pipe you’re using at each of
your sites?
Johnson: We went with a DS-3 and have the capability to increase that
DS-3. All of our remote offices are running with a 3Mbps pipe, which is
great, and we have the capability to extend that if necessary.
Telecommunications: Have you looked at Ethernet options as well?
Johnson: We are using Ethernet between the remote offices.
Telecommunications: What advice would you offer another enterprise in
choosing a new provider and making a network transition?
Johnson: No matter who you go with you have to do due diligence and
look at every aspect and pick a company that fits your environment. We
looked at all the different vendors and talked to their customers. I would
say you have to do the work and make sure this vendor is the best fit
for your company.
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