To serve as technology consultants to our clients, we need to stay up to speed with the latest IT trends and solutions. To achieve that, our team of IT experts attends weekly training sessions. Our Tech Talks blog series offers a snapshot of these educational sessions.
Key Takeaways:
- Modern, agile providers offer unique global scale and “easy button” aggregation for enterprise connectivity and security.
- The managed services continuum—from co-managed to fully outsourced—enables right-sized support across distributed environments.
- Self-service portals with near real-time visibility enhance IT and procurement efficiency while improving stakeholder collaboration.
- Advanced network function virtualization accelerates service deployment and paves the way for digital transformation.
- Global operations with local expertise provide seamless support for complex, multi-region rollouts.
Why Distributed Enterprises Need a New Approach to Network and Security
The average enterprise IT footprint is more complex and dispersed than ever—with users, sites, and cloud workloads spanning regions and continents. Traditional telcos and legacy aggregation models often fall short, leaving organizations to juggle dozens or even hundreds of contracts, vendors, and support structures.
Many organizations face key challenges:
- Managing diverse network technologies (fiber, cable, wireless, satellite) across geographies
- Aligning security controls consistently over fragmented WANs
- Driving operational efficiency while minimizing handoffs, outages, and risks
- Empowering teams with actionable, consolidated performance and incident data
Against this backdrop, IT leaders are searching for partners that can deliver both global reach and local execution—without unnecessary complexity.
Insights From the Tech Talk: Trends and Best Practices
Moving From Connectivity Broker to Managed Solution Partner
Our technology partner, a seasoned provider with over two decades serving distributed enterprises, emphasized the shift from simple connectivity brokerage to integrated solution delivery. By operating as both a global carrier and an aggregator—across more than 3,500 last-mile partners and all key access technologies—they offer a “single pane of glass” for WAN, network security, and value-added professional services.
Defining the Ideal Customer Profile
The sweet spot for these advanced services is the “distributed enterprise”—mid-market and larger organizations with people and sites around the world, not just clustered in a single metro area. Typical clients are consolidating vendor sprawl (sometimes from 100+ providers) and seeking simplicity, performance, and a strategic relationship that scales.
Network Modernization—Platform, Security, and Managed Services
The platform’s global backbone provides low-latency, high-bandwidth connectivity—serving hyperscalers, SaaS providers, and enterprises with demanding requirements. Multi-technology integration (including fiber, cable, wireless, satellite) supports even the most challenging locations, such as those in mining or agriculture.
Security is focused on WAN-based controls: SD-WAN, SASE, DDoS mitigation, and managed detection/response (MDR) delivered via a robust, in-house SOC leveraging industry-leading SIEM platforms. Three service flavors—do-it-yourself, co-managed, and fully managed—allow organizations to select the oversight that matches their resourcing and risk tolerance.
Next-Gen Portal: Visibility, Efficiency, and Empowerment
The standout innovation is a self-service portal providing near real-time visibility across connectivity, security, tickets, contracts, order status, and more. Features highlighted include:
- Widget-based, customizable dashboards tailored for IT, finance, or ops
- Detailed service records (technical specs, contract dates, tickets) per site
- Role-based access for granular control across business units
- Project management integration with real-time updates from PMs to clients
- Multi-customer dropdowns for consolidated or individual reporting
- Direct access to escalation paths, enabling rapid resolution
Importantly, real-time back-office integration ensures that updates (such as ticket annotations or project milestones) are visible within minutes—eliminating data silos and manual follow-ups.
Solution Architecture and Integration Considerations
Unlike pure resellers, our partner leverages their own global backbone to enhance solution quality and guarantee service levels. Key architectural strengths:
- Edge-to-cloud network function virtualization, enabling rapid deployment and scaling of services (SD-WAN, firewalls, analytics)
- Universal customer premises equipment (uCPE) platforms for software-driven service activation—minimizing truck rolls and on-premise touchpoints
- Open APIs to facilitate workload management, monitoring, and integration with client ITSM platforms
- Security controls built into the network “middle mile” for superior performance and protection
Clients benefit from a continuum of managed options and professional services, including dedicated project managers, incident managers, and ongoing program support—critical for navigating transitions that can stretch over multiple years and hundreds of sites.
Outcomes and Impact: Simplicity, Agility, and Risk Reduction
For distributed organizations, the qualitative impact is transformative:
- Vendor reduction (from 100+ to a manageable few), enabling cost savings and governance
- Faster service rollout—sometimes in minutes, using virtual provisioning
- Improved visibility and transparency for all IT and business stakeholders
- Streamlined contract, billing, and incident management across global footprints
- Superior alignment between IT, procurement, and security teams through role-based access and flexible workflows
Notably, six-figure deals in the channel and repeated wins against larger legacy telcos demonstrate strong market fit and increasing adoption by enterprise clients.
Implementation Recommendations: People, Process, and Change Leadership
Successful deployments demand more than technology. IT leaders should:
- Engage both network and security decision-makers early (typically director, VP, or specialized procurement roles)
- Establish a phased migration plan, aligning with contract end dates across incumbent providers
- Leverage change management resources—especially for large, multi-year rollouts
- Prioritize partner platforms with robust self-service, yet accessible high-touch support (including clear escalation paths)
- Assess integration needs with existing ITSM and business operations platforms
Next Steps for IT Leaders
If your organization is evaluating WAN modernization, security transformation, or reducing operational complexity for distributed environments – we’ll help assess needs, demo solutions, and map out pragmatic next steps.
Ready to simplify your network and empower your teams? Call 877-599-3999 or email sales@stratospherenetworks.com.
