So you think connecting all your sites costs to much?  Not for a long time now.  With the WoADSL solution as offered by isai, you will be able to connected as many branches as needed, making use of the most stable flavour of Linux available, over the cheapest source of connectivity with the most bandwidth.   Many might say it is not suitable, stable or scalable enough... wrong - we have clients that have from their home connected to one office, through to clients with upwards of 20 or more sites connected with remote workers and VoIP extensions and surveillance cameras all connected at once.

WoADSL is the new product that combines ADSL, the Internet and Linux into a solution that will irretrievably place all users firmly in the 21st century. Its advent and ease of access to the general public will finally begin the race for communication solutions that will provide cost-effective and reliable connectivity between the offices and factories, and their branches, occupied by Commerce and Industry.  No longer will this fast and effective form of communication be available only to the select few who, with massive budgets, see the benefits of

•     making use of all the communications resources available to them;
•     being able to connect their branches live on line 24/7;
•     having central data repositories and
•     taking part in the massive cost savings that such connectivity has to offer;
•     taking advantage of free phone calls between branches via Voice over IP (VoIP);
•     remote surveillance of branches via IP integrated cameras, and
•     So much more. 

The kind of connectivity we are talking about here operates at very high speeds.  Up until recently users were content with speeds of 56k and 128k, whereas with the advent of ADSL, these speeds have soared to 512k, 1024k and up to 4meg, speeds of 4 meg were previously only cost effective for corporate companies.  Now for the first time we can truly make use of the technologies available to businesses that will show real benefits.
Further, until now the cost of connectivity, even at low speeds, has simply been too high.  It has made the cost of rolling out much needed services and solutions too expensive and thus too budget intensive. As a result, Commerce and Industry have been excluded from growth and power based on modern technology already used worldwide. They were simply abandoned to the primitive communications tools allowed to them by Telkom and government.  The losses suffered by South Africa, as a whole, are inestimable.

The new solutions which are the subject of this article have come about since the advent of ADSL in South Africa, and with a wave of technological changes,  has shown many companies, both small and large, how the victory of technology over the “dumbing down of the country” by state and para-statal inertia can really increase productivity and reduce costs at the same time.  It is pertinent to say here that too many solution-providers rely on the argument of increased productivity to sell their products and tend to forget that often cost, on its own, is the greatest barrier to progress and productivity.

isai, a superior technology integrator in the IT and ISP arena, has taken this technology, and has manipulated it to provide significant cost-saving solutions and real increases in productivity. Solution-providers harp on return on investment and increases in productivity to justify their higher prices.  isai, on the other hand, also uses these yard-sticks, but tries to show return on investments in manageable chunks,
ISAI has even created solutions where a significant (not to say astonishing) return on investment was achieved in two weeks – and   the increased productivity argument was not even referred to.

WoADSL (WAN over ADSL), has proved to be the most potent of all the solutions isai has to offer.

A closer look at the solution

isai has developed a solution that makes use of ADSL to create wide-area-networks, hence the acronym:  WAN over ADSL (WoADSL).  ISAI has developed applications, manipulated the technology and has achieved a far better quality of service over the ADSL line than most users have experienced.  The solution also provides outstanding management of bandwidth thus allowing for the provision of dedicated circuits within the ADSL to allow VoIP and other types of data to flow without the one affecting the other.  This means that Internet access will not reduce the quality of voice calls, and can also not impact on the requirements of the VPN, Active Directory or video surveillance traffic.  The options are almost infinite depending on the requirements of each organisation obviously while staying within the macro limitations of the ADSL product. The stipulation will certainly always be that there is sufficient bandwidth to cater for all the required services.  No solution will have the ability to provide unlimited services with limited bandwidth.

Within the WoADSL “cloud” we have implemented impressive compression and encryption formulas which further reduce bandwidth consumption, as well as make sure that data arrives at the other end with no extra eye-balls on the content.

The isai solution has opened the field for productivity-improving and cost-saving solutions such as:

• Centralised databases – allows the formation of a single database which all the branches of the client can access, thus ensuring that the data is live and up to date, at all times.
• Centralised documentation warehousing – allows for one central location where all document templates, product sheets, legal documents, financial records, HR records etc., are stored, thus ensuring that every member/employee of the enterprise has access to the most up-to-date documentation.
• Enables the enterprise to connect to a single Active Directory – which hugely reduces the number of Microsoft Active Directory servers needed and thus a further reduction of costs. 
• Improved internal electronic communications – delivery of information is simplified and made more secure by movement of information through the enterprise’s own highly encrypted VPN network.
• Off-site backup strategies – with WoADSL, synchronisation of data between branches is enabled allowing for full backups at other branch locations.  These synchronisations take place overnight.  This procedure creates the most efficient form of backup.  isai has a separate product also dedicated to this solution called DataSync.
• Use of VoIP which virtually eliminates the cost of internal calls.  The installation and connection of correct hardware connected to a PABX, makes the cost of calls between all branches almost FREE.  While ISAI’S solution is not the only way to provide this service, it is certainly a superior method.  VoIP Break-Out is also made possible through our own National, International and cellular Gateways, thus further reducing all other calls as well – request our VoIP documents in this regard.
• Video Surveillance – with the use of IP enabled and integrated surveillance cameras, it is now possible to view recorded and live footage from remote locations such as distant branches.
• POS – POS (Point of Sale) systems have been problematic when deployed in multiple branches.  Stock updates, price updates, stock levels, and the like have always been a difficult process to manage.  Deploying these applications over a WAN have always been possible, but extremely expensive, especially for the smaller business.  Now, with ISAI’S WoADSL solution, these costs are dramatically reduced.

Video surveillance has always given rise to the criticism that it “monitors the guards” who are, in any event, already on the premises. It demands the inspection of kilometres of recorded tapes using valuable time and human resources. Remote surveillance, on the other hand, which provides live on-line inspection, is one of the newest facilities created by our WoADSL solution and definitively answers the criticism.  It allows for the engineering of centralised control rooms, and far superior monitoring of remote locations. 

Many might argue that ADSL is not reliable enough, but this is not so.  If the ADSL equipment is correctly configured, and is connected to the correct and compatible equipment (which is not necessarily more expensive) the opposite is proved beyond all reasonable doubt.  True instability, has only occurred when the ADSL installation has been forced – where, for example,   physical problems such as distance from the exchange, or cable quality have compromised the line and the quality of the solution.  After all, who would disagree with the notion that it is impossible to fit every solution into every environment!!  Also, isai’s wise use of Linux and other technologies have really proved to very high levels of stability.

Further, in instances where connectivity needs to be maintained at a critical 99.9999% uptime, ISAI has implemented backup mechanisms through ISDN or even analogue dial-up accounts.  Even when incorporating these costs into the provision of WoADSL, the argument about costs is still a “No Brainer” because such costs are so low.

In addition, while many will argue that the per gig payment system is a limiting factor; the fact is, even with the cost of per Gig traffic included the cost savings are still tremendous. We have many networks that consist of multiple branches that rarely even exceed 3 to 5 gig traffic per branch, but of course there are also those that do.  In conjunction with WoADSL, we are able to provide various types of ADSL accounts to cater for various needs, and we largely make use of local only ADSL accounts when connecting branches which shows further savings of as much as 30%.  We also have ADSL accounts with uncapped bandwidth.  Our different ADSL accounts are discussed in more detail in Internet Access.

Where higher bandwidth is required, we are able to provide a load balancing solution over multiple ADSL circuits.

Security

Of all the burning questions, security is probably the hottest topic.  To answer this:  We create multiple secure VPN channels between all the sites, with sufficient encryption to keep your data away from prying eyes.  We can increase the security to 2048Bit encryption, which is in fact an over-kill.
Then, there is further security built into each server that only allows servers with the correct security keys to form part of the VPN.  If any machine is replaced without the rest of the network being “informed”, that particular machine will not be allowed to join the network until it has been “introduced”.  There are a considerable amount more security measures in place that we do not divulge, but it is safe to say that every single measure has been put in place to make the network as secure as possible, and in most cases we have proven a more secure network using our product that the level of security in a standard WAN; this due to the specific diligence we have employed in providing the service.

Support

All our support is provided from our NOC (Network Operation Centre), we have in less than 3% of our installations had the need to deploy a technician.
Further to this, we have developed a devout monitoring system that monitors the entire network, which interfaces with a self maintenance and repair system on each Linux server.  This will report to us at all times what the status of the server is.  The user also has access to this via a web interface to obtain statistics and perform various tasks.
All of this basically means that each Linux server that forms part of the VPN will do it’s best to make sure it is always connected, and will perform various tasks to repair itself before finding the need to let us know – this massively reduces response times.

The Savings

This is always the burning question…
With isai’s WoADSL solution,  real time cost savings in the form of 24/7 Internet connectivity, while making use of the same line to connect to the company VPN, are demonstrated and proved beyond all reasonable doubt.
Traditionally, companies make use of dial-up connections to connect to the Internet and such connections come with per minute / per second billing mechanisms that become extremely costly.  Inexplicably, many companies neglect to look at these costs or, simply believe that they can put mechanisms in place to reduce these costs.  The surprise, however, is that it is no longer possible to reduce these costs  and it is likely that they are set to increase, whereas by making use of ADSL, the costs are static, and can be budgeted for.

Some companies make use of Diginet.  While Diginet is a superb product, and perfectly capable of providing a superior connection, the price is simply too high for most businesses to absorb, even when considering vaunted "increases in productivity".  A 64k connection between two national sites  will easily average R3000 pm or more, whereas with our WoADSL solution isai is able to provide as much as 8 times that speed (and more) for a smaller price on average – including line rental, access accounts and support.  This thus not only shows reduced costs, but far greater speeds as well.

The point is that ISAI is able to provide a high class, stable, cost- effective, high availability, high bandwidth and secure network solution that will ensure the roll-out the complete remedial solutions that Commerce and Industry has been screaming for.  In many cases, and probably for less money that is currently being spent on  no more than an Internet connection, isai is able to provide a 24/7 Internet connection, as well as the WAN solution.  All the benefits are set out above.

By taking a holistic  view of current requirements, expenditure on communications and connectivity, and carefully integrating these, isai guarantees results which are the envy of the industry together with significant cost savings; and all of this in respectable time frames –  with only the most positive and advantageous impact on the enterprise to look forward to.

ISAI can also create remote dial-up accounts to allow users to enter the WoADSL network from remote locations, thus empowering international travellers, road warriors and home workers with the means to access the company network, for both Data and Voice. It goes without saying that the solution incorporates the most advanced security measures for the continuous protection of the enterprises assets, corporeal, incorporeal and intellectual.

Why us

isai has managed to truly make this solution its own – it has developed additional software to manage and maintain its own network.  isai has developed and grown the solution for more than 5 years, perfecting every avenue and exploiting every advantage and benefit, to make sure that clients get the best available service and a world-class product.   ISAI is confident that no other provider is able to match or supply a solution that is superior in the fields of cost effectiveness, reliability, benefits or discursiveness and flexibility...

For more information about WoADSL, please contact isai on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it