Service management framework#
The standard model of support is as unfit for purpose as the outdated network solutions we are replacing.
At Evolving Networks, we have not just rewritten the rules of what a WAN can be, we’ve torn up the service model as well.
Ethos#
Legacy providers are not ready to commit to modern standards of network response and uptime. We are.
Managing a complex supply chain to deliver decentralised, abstracted network services customised to each customer requires exceptional service management, which is why it is a fundamental tenet of Evolving Networks.
Just as security is baked in, so is good communication and proactive management of issues, changes and incidents with our partners, suppliers and customers.
We approach networking and technology from the standpoint that everything will fail.
Governance#
This document lays out our governance framework and guiding principles along with specific details on service levels, escalation points and our service assurance model.
These guiding principles should form a set of mutual aims between all parties.
Fault tolerance#
All our services are designed with uptime and quality in mind.
Our network technology and software-defined ecosystem of platforms has self-healing capabilities. Customers can construct services that are as fault tolerant and high capacity as they choose based on an array of factors, detailed in this document.
Just as you might lower your risk and improve your uptime by moving to a cloud app or online backup, we can lower the risk profile of any individual SD-WAN site connection or core SD-WAN by adding resilience options.
Simple, paradigm shifting SLAs#
A complex solution can still have a simple and market beating SLA. How much money back we credit is directly linked to how resilient the service design is for any solution. The more fault tolerance built in, the bigger the multiplier.
Commit to the mindset, and we’ll stand by our technology and service.
Incident response & mitigation#
Our network technology delivers split second response to failures, making mitigation invisible. But customers need to know that when an issue arises, undetected by them, our service is protecting their business.
Our proactive support model, effectively reverses the flow of a traditional SLA.
When it comes to contact, we instigate the majority of cases, actively pushing information to customers about how their service is performing.
While others measure fault responses in hours or days, we act in milliseconds and seconds.
Service assurance#
Traditionally, service agreements assume the customer instigates most contacts. Even today, most SLAs are focused on reactive response.
New technology requires a new mindset.
Just as we tore up the book on how to procure your WAN, we do the same with service management and support.
Rather than wait for end users to report faults, we have leveraged our position managing a network of networks with our Intelligent Network Fabric (INF) to proactively identify, diagnose and fix issues.
This means our NOC will be raising proactive tickets to communicate protection from, and prevention of, faults along with resolution & completion communications as necessary.
This, and the inherently fault tolerant nature of our SD-WAN services actively reduces the number of customer instigated incidents, allowing service managers to concentrate on showing where productivity has been protected, rather than analysing disruptive failures.
Focus can instead be made on continuous WAN transformation, in line with a customer’s evolving business needs.
Escalation#
How escalations should be performed, and by whom, are laid out depending on issue type and where in the process flow they are needed.
Escalation authorisations should be agreed between Evolving Networks and any accredited partner as part of initial engagement.