New Buildings
The following building has recently had CityLink network services installed:
WELLINGTON - Massey University, Block 10, Tasman Street
- Shed 13, Customhouse Quay
AUCKLAND - PWC Tower, 188 Quay Street
- 159 Khyber Pass Road
From The Top: An update from Neil
The concepts of open access fibre, dark fibre and fibre to the home (FTTH) are very much in vogue today and are accurately painted as the future of technology and something that we must invest in.>
Often, CityLink is held up as an example of a successful open access environment (which, of course, we are). But the real point is not specifically fibre or fibre infrastructure; it’s the range of competitive services that evolves across these infrastructures and the exciting ecosystems that help drive economic development. Video and video conferencing are demonstrable applications that work incredibly well across unconstrained fibre infrastructure. Just watch TVNZ ondemand or YouTube HD on a really high speed connection and you’ll notice the difference.
In this issue of CityLinked we talk about video conferencing; look at how CityLink is connecting more businesses with fibre optics in Auckland, and give you some suggestions on how you can save your business money in this time of recession.
CityLink’s Auckland operations are in good hands
CityLink's Auckland CBD operations are experiencing major growth, thanks in no small part to the efforts of our Auckland Business Manager, Patrick Sharp. Patrick's role is to service our Auckland network of customers and expand CityLink's presence in the CBD.
Patrick has been with CityLink for 10 months, coming to us from Orcon, where he held a similar role in Wellington. Although he is based in Wellington, Patrick's become an expert commuter and sees Auckland as his ‘other home'.
"We contract Pulse Networks (based in our Auckland office) to manage the fibre and civil work," says Patrick. "Moving between cities means I'm close to both the Auckland market and the hub of CityLink and can keep my finger on the pulse in this fast moving business."
Patrick is responsible for growing CityLink's business in the Auckland marketplace and believes they've come up with a strategy that's working well.
"Auckland's CBD has some of the densest real estate in New Zealand and we're taking advantage of that by increasing our presence in buildings with large business populations," says Patrick. "Without giving away any trade secrets, we're lighting opportune buildings before we take on new customers within those buildings, which reduces costs for everyone. It's a win-win situation and enables us to pass on cost reductions to customers and channel partners, and deliver a higher level of service."
The statistics say it all, with a 64% growth in lit buildings throughout the Auckland CBD and an 80% increase since the beginning of the year in businesses that can access the network.
Another invaluable service CityLink offers Auckland is our competitively priced CityBridge (Auckland-Wellington) service, which allows customers to connect offices between the two cities at LAN speeds, providing symmetrical, dedicated bandwidth through robust fibre connections.
At the local level, CityLink's PrivateLAN service enables businesses with offices across Auckland City to amalgamate their networks into one, reducing equipment and resource costs, simplifying the network and avoiding data bottlenecks - all at LAN speed.
"We're all about providing what the customer really needs," says Patrick. "Our philosophy is to think outside the box in order to help businesses grow, using the best products and services to meet their needs."
To find out more about services and products in Auckland, contact Patrick on (09) 929 1206, 021 2269269 or email patrick.sharp@citylink.co.nz.
Asnet Technologies show us how to meet
Asnet Technologies are changing the face of business meetings.
As New Zealand’s sole provider of world-renowned Polycom video conferencing products and services, Asnet Technologies reckon they can show New Zealand businesses the best way to have a meeting.
“Everything you do in the typical meeting space, we can transform into a video conference space. Whether it’s looking at a laptop, gauging people’s body language or writing on a whiteboard, our technology can capture it like you’re all in the same room, across the table from each other,” explains Chris Stewart, Managing Director of Asnet Technologies.
“It’s not the dark ages anymore, thanks to high speed broadband and IP- based technologies. Our high definition technology makes it feel like the people in your meeting are on the other side of the table, not the other side of the world.”
And it saves lots and lots of money, according to Chris. He says that it’s because staff are more productive, you spend a lot less on flights and taxis and you reduce wasted downtime. You can spend less time getting to and from meetings and more time working on your business.
While video conferencing has been around for more than a decade, the technology has moved with the times and is no longer clunky, with jerky, unreliable images and audio.
“Traditionally, video and audio conferencing was performed by switch technology via the old-fashioned phone lines. At Asnet Technologies, we’ve embraced IP-based video conferencing and use high speed broadband, like CityLink, to provide the links for our clients’ virtual meetings,” says Chris.
“Our equipment can work with any broadband Internet connection, even the most basic ADSL line, but it really begins to sing when it’s running on a nice, fat CityLink pipe, and operating in full high definition. You can even see the wrinkles on your boss’s face if you want to!” Chris says.
“Cisco says that video is the single biggest driver of networks today and everyone’s frantically increasing their bandwidth to accommodate it. But CityLink are ahead of that wave. Their pipes are already big enough and if you’re an existing CityLink customer, you’ll find the ongoing usage costs should fit into your existing CityLink account. After you’ve invested in the technology itself, video conferencing shouldn’t cost you any more to run.”
Chris signed up with CityLink back in 2000 and hasn’t looked back. “We currently have four connections, and it works. And it keeps on working. That’s the great thing about CityLink. It becomes that piece of provisioning that you just don’t have to worry about.”
CityLink’s products can save you money
We’re sure you’ll agree that the most significant costs in your annual budget are usually related to people, accommodation, travel and ICT.
In this time of recession, CityLink has some perfect solutions to help your business perform just as well as ever, while making a positive difference to your bottom line.
Think about some of these options:
- Encourage your staff to work remotely using VPN technology to reduce office overheads. CafeNET provides you with WiFi remote access in public places throughout the Wellington CBD.
- Take advantage of high definition video conferencing to save money on airfares and accommodation.
- Investigate Convergence and Cloud services that work over our fibre optic network such as VoIP, to reduce your ICT costs.
- Centralise your back office functions using CityLink’s PrivateLAN service to increase staff productivity.
If any of these suggestions hit a nerve and you’d like to find out more, give us a call on 0800 4CITYLINK or visit our website.
Citylinked is brought to you by CityLink Ltd.
CityLink House, Level 5, 53 Boulcott St, Wellington 6011, New Zealand