In a previous post, we discussed the “last mile” connectivity problem — the limited performance associated with the shared Internet services available to remote offices and users. Most corporate data centers have a dedicated telecom circuit with guaranteed bandwidth and SLAs. However, it’s typically not cost-effective or even feasible to provision such circuits for remote locations.

The oil and gas industry faces numerous challenges, including fluctuating prices, competition from alternative resources, geopolitical instability, and environmental and safety regulations. Companies in the energy sector must be as agile and efficient as possible to respond to changing demands, maximize market share and gain competitive advantages.

Getting data from a data center to a remote user involves a complex system of WAN connections. A well-managed data center will likely have a high-performance connection to an Internet service provider’s (ISP’s) backbone with guaranteed bandwidth and SLAs. The data travels over the Internet backbone at high speeds.

The success of many organizations is largely dependent on the success of their branch locations. Satellite offices, retail stores, manufacturing facilities, distribution centers, and even vessels on inland waterways need IT resources to keep up with today’s business demands.