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We at Network Magazine (India) continuously endeavor to improve our publication. Although our new initiatives are driven by industry feedback, we would love to implement your suggestions.

So Dear Reader, we want to know your thoughts about our magazine. If you like something in particular... or think we can improve certain sections...or you just have a story idea, send us mail.

You can send us feedback by e-mail or write directly to any of us here in the editorial department. You'll find our writers' e-mail addresses at the end of their respective articles. We look forward to hearing from you.

Intelligent Enterprise Award

What are the formalities that an organisation has to undergo if it wants to be nominated for Network Magazine's Intelligent Enterprise Award?

Regards,
Nilanjan Nath
IT, Hindalco

Dear Mr Nath

The Intelligent Enterprise Awards are usually presented at Network Magazine's CIO Conclave at the Technology Senate event that takes place every year. Advertisements inviting participation appear in The Indian Express, Network Magazine, Express Computer, and The Financial Express at least two months before the actual presentation.

The application forms are available online from these websites: www.technologysenate.com and www.networkmagazineindia.com.

Companies wishing to participate must fill out the form and send it to us. Based on the information provided, the Network Magazine editorial team and Ernst & Young sift through all the submitted forms and select the top three entries in each of nine industry categories. These categories are based on two criteria: innovation and value creation.

The three finalists are then invited for an interview with a panel of jury members who are business leaders, IT leaders and independent experts. The jury tests the claims made by the CIO to arrive at the winner.

- Editor

Setting up a call centre

I want to set up a fifty-seat outbound call centre in Salt Lake City, Kolkata. Some consultants are advising me to use an International Private Leased Circuit (IPLC), which is a dedicated digital point-to-point connection providing voice, data and video communication to locations worldwide.

Others suggest that a 1 MBPS 1:4 leased line will work well. Please advise me with regard to the type of connectivity I should use, along with what it is likely to cost me.

Regards,
Ranjan Bhattacharya

Dear Mr Bhattacharya

It is good to hear that you plan to run a fifty-seat call centre, and we wish you the best in your venture.

Regarding your queries, we assume that the following facts hold true:

• You plan to use well-tuned VoIP equipment from a reliable solutions provider as this will minimise delay, echo, and the usual problems of VoIP communications.
• All your seats will be used for making outgoing calls.
• Your business will grow in the next few months, in which case, when you apply for a high bandwidth link, there will be a time lag.

Over and above this:

• No T1 leased line will ever give you 1.4 Mbps. The actual bandwidth will be between one-third and half of the promised throughput.
• Taking a link from a single service provider is not a good idea as you will have no failover link in such a scenario. A backup ISDN link will only kick in after your primary link drops and ongoing sessions are terminated.

We suggest that you explore the option of signing up with two different broadband service providers (e.g. BSNL, Sify, Reliance, Tata Indicom-VSNL and Bharti Televentures), and ask for T1 links from both.

In this manner, you will have two T1 links, each from a separate service provider.

Other than that, we suggest you talk to a competent consultant who can analyse your business needs in thorough detail. The consultant will then recommend the appropriate solution.

- Editor