White Papers
Greg Howard has authored many white papers, both with the HTRC Group, LLC and writing white papers for service providers and hardware manufacturers. Market white papers are custom projects where the HTRC Group works with customers to develop valuable content used to explain technology and services with direct business benefits.
Some papers include:
XML Networking: Moving Up The Stack
The need to cost-effectively integrate existing and deploy new applications has created a need for Application Data Routers (ADRs). The abstraction of XML processing, management, and policy enforcement from Web services platforms to ADRs provides a cost-effective means to access, move and track Web services throughout growing enterprises. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of XML on network infrastructure and the emergence of Application Data Router (also referred to as Web Services Management) solutions.
Value-Based IP Billing
Internet products and services are being developed and deployed so quickly that providers of Internet Protocol (IP) services reference product cycles in “Internet years”—very short product development cycles measured in weeks and days rather than years and months. A service provider’s very survival hinges upon its ability to maintain a continual influx of new customers, as well as its proficiency in retaining existing profitable ones. Service providers will quickly lose market share to faster, nimbler providers who capitalize on implementing value based IP billing with their business infrastructure in order to be first to market with innovative IP based applications and services.
Managed Delivery: Taking eCDNs to the Next Level
We believe there is a hole in the current delivery market, one that managed delivery solutions were created to fill. This paper defines and discusses managed delivery technology, a solution that enables enterprises to effectively deliver content to enterprise end users, regardless of network connection speed. Managed delivery takes advantages of unused network capacity to download large files at a regulated speed over time. Because the content is downloaded to the desktop (not streamed in real-time), quality is not dependent on network resources. The digital asset can be downloaded to and opened from the desktop using local computing resources. Managed delivery is an important advance in the evolution of the eCDN market.
The Emerging Internet Storage Infrastructure Market
With increasingly broad adoption of the Internet, it has become a legitimate entertainment and communications medium. Web sites are responding to growing user expectations with dramatically increased use of rich-media. Rich-media content consisting of audio, video, and images has helped create greater user impact and a more immersive Internet experience. Helping drive the use of rich-media is the rapid adoption of broadband access technologies that enable applications such as movies-on-demand and video conference calling.
Global Load Balancing Solutions
The Internet is growing at an incredible speed, facilitating rapid innovation and the development of new revenue models. New technologies such as cable modems and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) are continually increasing access speeds to accommodate the growing demand for more sophisticated, bandwidth-intensive, interactive content. As first-time users flock to get connected, the growing numbers can place considerable demand on a company’s Web servers. At the same time, Web site performance and reliability have become two of the most important determinants of online user satisfaction and customer retention, making an increasingly significant impact on the bottom line.
The Future of IP Services
Internet Protocol (IP) Services represent an increasingly large opportunity for service providers, IT companies and enterprises. Yet expense and inflexibility of current network solutions continue to constrain the market for IP services. Enterprise customers desiring advanced IP services typically make expensive capital and networking investments, limiting the penetration of IP services across the industry. Competitive companies continue to focus on their core and strategic competencies, while outsourcing IT applications and services. Several factors, however, constrain the outsourcing trend, including service flexibility, concerns over service quality and security, and expensive network access arrangements.
The Commercial-Grade Internet: Edge Systems and Services
In this paper, we introduce Internet Edge Service Providers (IESPs). Because of their location at the ”edge” of the Internet, IESPs can align network, storage and computing resources inside networks or behind corporate firewalls in order to deliver upon the promise of the commercialgrade Internet. They are ideally positioned to deliver multiple, differentiated service levels and service options that precisely match customer needs, establishing a new, tiered service environment for increased revenues and profitability. IESPs can only guarantee performance on the
networks they own and operate. The closer users are to content the better the chance for greater service quality. IESPs that offer Internet access directly to end users can maintain a higher level of service quality to connected users.
Data Routing In the Age of Information
Web-based applications often use data from several existing enterprise applications within and outside the corporation. Nearly all of these applications require new and dedicated systems (e.g. databases, application servers, Web servers, etc.) that must be uniquely deployed, managed, and maintained. As a result, new processes are required to transfer data from these existing enterprise systems to the new Web-application infrastructure.
Next Generation Data Center Services: Building the Virtual Service Advantage
The dust of the great Internet gold rush is settling. Capital spending in Internet infrastructure peaked in 2000, following a period when speed of execution was considered one of the most
essential skills in Internet business operations. The expression “in Internet time” made it to mainstream English, testifying to the spirit of the times. As the entire Internet industry adjusts its business practices to become profitable, the focus is on reducing operational costs and leveraging the huge investments made in developing expertise.
Managing Costly Customers
Network service providers (NSPs) continue to witness an explosion in data traffic. Yet generating high-margin revenue and creating unique customer value from selling pure bandwidth
remains a challenge. Competitive pressures have long since chiseled away the high margins on data access. Although NSPs are filling their networks with bandwidth, the revenue
margins produced from that bandwidth are relatively small. One major reason is churn, and the costs associated with churn. One of the significant factors that contribute to churn is fraudulent behavior.