Down The Wire Podcast
The Network Collective
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The Network Collective (TNC), the leading UK based network and telecoms consultancy, host Down The Wire Podcast. You can expect unique, vendor independent telecoms insight. TNC's CEO, John Waterhouse, and CTO, Craig Northveth, along with special guests, share our expert advice and real world buying behaviours from the network, telecoms and mobility industry.
Available episodes
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Oct 31, 2022
How to save money on your telecoms network and services
This episode of TNC’s Down The Wire Podcast features TNC telecoms experts Clare Tyndall and Adrian Joyce.
Clare and Adrian are talking about saving money and how to do it in the telecoms space. The topics of discussion include:
* Why is cost saving such a hot topic in the telecoms industry now?
* Why are supplier costs increasing?
* What is the impact of lack of internal resource to manage telecoms spend?
* What is the impact of new technologies on cost?
* What can you do to save costs now?
Adrian and Clare explain the approach TNC takes with our customers to help them save money:
* Assess your current estate and how different technologies could offer cost savings
* Understand what you should be paying by using TNC’s unique market insight
* Identify how your current suppliers compare to the wider market
* Create a strategy to either renegotiate with existing suppliers or go out to market
If you would like to find out more about how TNC can help you, and your organisation, we would be delighted to talk to you and share our experience and knowledge. Please get in touch using the contact details below.
https://www.networkcollective.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-network-collective
Email: info@networkcollective.co.uk
Music by
Riptide by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4288-riptide
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Aug 11, 2022
How To Manage Network Transformation And Optimise Your Business Case
Joining TNC’s podcast host, CEO John Waterhouse, to share her expertise is TNC’s Head of Managed Services, Clare Tyndall.
In this episode Clare answers a series of questions on the topic of network transformation and optimising your business case:
* Why should large organisations be thinking about transforming their networks?
* We all know that transforming networks is complex, and ensuring you develop and deliver your business case can be problematic. Can you talk us through the main risks to be aware of?
* How can TNC help to take the pain out of these transformations?
* What advice do you have for our listeners in terms of next steps?
If you would like to find out more about how TNC can help you, and your organisation, we would be delighted to talk to you and share our experience and knowledge. Please get in touch using the contact details below.
https://www.networkcollective.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-network-collective
Email: info@networkcollective.co.uk
Music by
Riptide by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4288-riptide
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Jul 12, 2022
What You Need To Know About Creating Your ZTNA Strategy
Joining TNC’s podcast host, CEO John Waterhouse, to share his expertise is TNC’s CTO, Craig Northveth.
In this episode John and Craig discuss what key steps you need to take to develop your strategy for ZTNA (Zero Network Trust Architecture).
We’re living in an age where cyber security has never been more in the spotlight. With so much reliance on digital it’s becoming increasingly difficult to spot a friend from a foe, which is why many organisations are implementing a ZTNA.
Listen to this episode to get answers to the following essential questions:
* What is ZTNA? And why does it matter to me?
* Why is ZTNA such a hot topic now?
* What are the key elements that make up the ZTNA environment?
* What are the steps my organisation should take to develop our ZTNA strategy?
If you would like to find out more about how TNC can help you, and your organisation, we would be delighted to talk to you and share our experience and knowledge. Please get in touch using the contact details below.
https://www.networkcollective.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-network-collective
Email: info@networkcollective.co.uk
Music by
Riptide by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4288-riptide
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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May 5, 2022
Enterprise Network Design for the Cloud Revolution
Joining TNC’s podcast host, CEO John Waterhouse, to share his expertise is TNC’s CTO, Craig Northveth.
In this episode John and Craig discuss what key steps organisations need to take to ensure their network is effectively and optimally designed to enable their cloud application strategy.
It pays to remember that proactively designing your network ready for cloud enablement is more cost effective than doing it reactively.
Tactically fixing a network that is not fit for purpose results in you having less choice and therefore more cost. Whereas, if your network transformation is strategic and planned there are opportunities to take cost out of legacy networks, whilst improving the flexibility, the agility and ensuring you have direct cloud access with the right level of security.
The key questions answered in this session include:
* What are the main challenges facing network architects today?
* What are the consequences of the network not being optimally designed? And why can’t I just iterate the network “as I go”, during my cloud application deployment?
* What does good look like in terms of a cloud enabled network?
* What are the key steps organisations should be taking to maximise cost, performance and best practice?
If you would like to find out more about how TNC can help you, and your organisation, we would be delighted to talk to you and share our experience and knowledge. Please get in touch using the below contact details.
* https://www.networkcollective.co.uk/
* https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-network-collective
* Email: info@networkcollective.co.uk
Music by:
Riptide by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4288-riptide
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Feb 22, 2022
4 Key Considerations For Your CX Strategy
Joining TNC’s podcast host, CTO Craig Northveth, to share her expertise is TNC’s Principal Consultant, Clare Tyndall.
In this episode Craig and Clare discuss TNC’s 4 key considerations for your CX strategy. This subject is topical now because customer expectations are changing, and legacy technology has serious limitations in our digital world.
There are several lenses through which to approach a successful CX strategy and our discussion focuses on the following:
*Customer Lens*
* Acceptance of digital channels
* Changing demographic
* Acquisition and retention opportunities
* Omnichannel
*Operational Lens*
* Hybrid working
* Cost challenge
* Agent experience
*Technology Lens*
* Legacy lifecycle
* Supplier landscape
* Rise of AI
*Commercial Lens*
* Business case complexity
If you would like to find out more about how TNC can help you, and your organisation, we would be delighted to talk to you and share our experience and knowledge. Please get in touch using the below contact details.
https://www.networkcollective.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-network-collective
Email: info@networkcollective.co.uk
Music by
Riptide by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4288-riptide
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Feb 2, 2022
The End Of The Line – UK ISDN And PSTNs To Be Retired
Joining TNC’s CEO, John Waterhouse, to share his expertise is one of TNC’s very own Head of Consulting, Adrian Joyce.
In this episode John and Adrian talk about Openreach’s analogue network being completely switched off by the end of 2025, which inevitably means organisations need to review their telecoms estate to understand the impact and plan their response.
Topics covered include:
* What is happening across the analogue network and why?
* What are the key dates between now and the switch off in 2025?
* Why organisations need to act now, even if they have migrated telephony away from PSTN & ISDN
* Recommended actions to take to mitigate the possible risks surrounding the switch off.
If you would like to find out more about how TNC can help you, and your organisation, we would be delighted to talk to you and share our experience and knowledge. Please get in touch using the below contact details.
https://www.networkcollective.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-network-collective
Email: info@networkcollective.co.uk
Music by
Riptide by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4288-riptide
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Dec 8, 2021
How Network Transformation Goes Wrong…And How To Prevent It
Joining TNC’s CEO, John Waterhouse, to share his expertise is one of TNC’s most experienced Principal Consultants and lead deployment expert, Jonathan Copley.
In his episode John and Jonathan discuss how badly network transformations can go wrong, why they do so often and how to avoid the pitfalls.
Topics covered include:
* 3 shocking statistics that paint the picture of how badly network transformations can go wrong
* Delayed network deployments – why do we see so many delayed deployments and what are the implications of that?
* Cost over running during deployment – how and why do costs spiral out of control during a network transformation?
* Jonathan explains the 3 key fixes to avoid your transformation going wrong
If you would like to find out more about how TNC can help you, and your organisation, we would be delighted to talk to you and share our experience and knowledge. Please get in touch using the below contact details.
https://www.networkcollective.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-network-collective
Email: info@networkcollective.co.uk
Music by
Riptide by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4288-riptide
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Nov 16, 2021
Mobile Procurement – There’s a Storm Coming…
Joining TNC’s CEO, John Waterhouse, to share his expertise is TNC’s Head of Consulting, and lead mobile expert, Adrian Joyce.
This topic is incredibly interesting and very timely - from Brexit and its impact on EU roaming, to 5G use cases, post-COVID changes, and lots in between.
Over the years mobile procurement has assumed almost a utility feel as prices were reduced, Tech Funds lessened, mobile devices were retained for longer periods and coverage issues declined (with improved coverage and Wi-Fi calling). Frankly, not much changed from one procurement cycle to the next.
However, there is a perfect storm forming that will change all the above and may mean your next mobile procurement will be the hardest and most important in a decade.
Adrian explains the following in detail:
* Why there is a storm coming in mobile procurement – what the contributing factors are
* The impact of EU roaming post Brexit
* The impact on inflation on mobile deals
* Whether 5G is a ‘must have’
If you would like to find out more about how TNC can help you, and your organisation, we would be delighted to talk to you and share our experience and knowledge. Please get in touch using the below contact details.
https://www.networkcollective.co.uk
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-network-collective
Email: info@networkcollective.co.uk
Music by
Riptide by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4288-riptide
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
playlist_add
Oct 22, 2021
Planning A Successful Network Transformation
TNC's CTO, Craig Northveth, discusses how to plan a successful network transformation with TNC’s Principal Consultant, Clare Tyndall, in this episode of TNC’s Down The Wire Podcast.
Some of the points covered include:
* Establishing a baseline is an essential first step in the network transformation process, which naturally leads to requirements gathering
* Some suppliers promise the world, but can they deliver?
* How TNC’s agile procurement process enables outcome-based network sourcing strategies
* How to ensure there is flexibility in the contract to allow for new technology in the future, as there is a revolution happening in this space
A quick reminder about TNC:
* We are the UK’s largest independent telecoms professional services consultancy
* We support over 280 major UK and multinational organisations
* We deliver the full lifecycle of Strategy, Sourcing, Deployment and In-life Managed Services, such as billing management, vendor management and in-life service management for all types of network and telecoms services
If you would like to find out more about how TNC can help you, and your organisation, we would be delighted to talk to you and share our experience and knowledge. Please get in touch using the below contact details.
https://www.networkcollective.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-network-collective
Email: info@networkcollective.co.uk
Music by
Riptide by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4288-riptide
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
playlist_add
Sep 7, 2021
Procurement Expert, Karl Walton, on Whether to Re-negotiate or Re-tender your Telecoms Contracts
We are delighted to welcome special guest, Karl Walton, to the podcast. Karl is one of the highest profile IT procurement professionals in the UK. Karl has led the development and execution of market-leading procurement strategies across a very broad range of IT, network, telecoms and mobility services, delivering technology and operational transformation, as well as lowest lifetime TCO.
There is a revolution sweeping through the network and telecoms market, with transformational technologies such as SD-WAN and cloud-based contact centre and telephony services racing to meet fast-changing demand for services to enable and support business change.
Of course, this revolution in use cases for network and telecoms is taking place in a time of unprecedented economic challenge for many organisations, meaning there is a very strong focus on cost and at a minimum ensuring transformation is achieved within budget, and very often whilst delivering cost savings.
Given these challenges, it should be no surprise that developing the most effective procurement strategies is critical to addressing these complex objectives. Which is why we are addressing this topic with Karl in this episode: what is most effective procurement strategy, and how should organisations make those choices?
https://www.networkcollective.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-network-collective
Email: info@networkcollective.co.uk
Music by
Riptide by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4288-riptide
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
playlist_add
Jul 28, 2021
Is Co-management the Future Model for Your Network?
As TNC has reported through many recent podcasts and articles, there is a technological revolution sweeping through the enterprise network market. However, harnessing sexy new technology is only part of the story – for organisations to achieve their objectives of delivering agile, flexible network services to support their business objectives, they are also going to have to build a more agile, flexible operating model to support and deliver that infrastructure.
Whilst many organisations will continue to pursue the “managed service”, others are looking to new models to achieve their objectives. So, we explore the options to build these new operating models, and particularly the option of co-management, which many believe will be the future operating model of choice for most.
If you would like to find out more about how TNC can help you, and your organisation, we would be delighted to talk to you and share our experience and knowledge. Please get in touch using the below contact…
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Jun 2, 2021
UCaaS vs. CCaaS vs. CPaaS
TNC's CTO, Craig Northveth, discusses how and why UCaaS, CCaaS and CPaaS are beginning to have a huge impact on the telecoms market with TNC’s Principal Consultant, Clare Tyndall, in this episode of TNC’s Down The Wire Podcast.
The ‘as a service’ communications topics covered by Craig and Clare include:
* What the core principles of UCaaS, CCaaS and CPaaS are
* Why it is such a hot topic now
* Drill down into the Contact Centre solutions
* Unified Communications market overview
* Buying behaviours of large, UK based organisations
A quick reminder about TNC:
* We are the UK’s largest independent telecoms professional services consultancy
* We support over 280 major UK and multinational organisations
* We deliver the full lifecycle of Strategy, Sourcing, Deployment and In-life Managed Services, such as billing management, vendor management and in-life service management for all types of network and telecoms services
If you would like to find out more about…
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Apr 27, 2021
Is It Time To Spring Clean Your Network and Telecoms Estates?
TNC’s Down The Wire Podcast brings you Episode number 8 entitled “Is It Time To Spring Clean Your Network and Telecoms Estates?”
John Waterhouse, CEO at TNC, interviews Head of Consulting and TNC commercial guru, Adrian Joyce.
This is a brilliant topic because cleaning up your network and telecoms estates is one of the most effective, but least well-known approaches to delivering cost savings. In TNC’s expert opinion, this is one of those rare approaches every organisation can take, irrespective of where they are in their technology, contract, or procurement cycle, and almost all organisations will achieve cost savings and wider operational benefits. However, this approach is often over-looked
Network and telecoms estate management can be challenging for several reasons and this complexity is fertile ground for errors to arise – whether that is mis-billing by service providers, or estates becoming unclean because services that should be ceased aren’t, the long-term effec…
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Mar 17, 2021
The Technology Revolution – MPLS vs. SD-WAN vs. SASE
In Down The Wire’s 7th Episode TNC’s CEO, John Waterhouse, interviews TNC’s CTO, Craig Northveth, on the topic of MPLS vs. SD-WAN vs. SASE.
Over the last couple of years, we’ve been witnessing a technology revolution in the enterprise network market. The driving force behind this revolution can be tied into factors such as workload shifts to the cloud, demand for enhanced network and application security, virtualised infrastructure, network flexibility, and technology vendor disruption.
However, the pace of these changes mean many organisations are struggling to know how to move forwards to realise the benefits. Is it time to move away from MPLS? Does MPLS retain a role in the future? Is SD-WAN ready for prime time? Is SASE even a realistic, deployable solution yet?
John and Craig discuss the following key points:
* What are the four transitional phases that define this technology revolution?
* How might organisations move through these phases, and what will be the key…
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Feb 17, 2021
5G – Hype or Reality?
We are delighted to bring you Down The Wire’s 6th Episode. TNC’s CTO, Craig Northveth, interviews TNC’s Head of Consultancy, Adrian Joyce, on the topic of 5G, what is hype and what is reality?
Adrian is TNC’s resident mobile guru and 5G is certainly a hot topic at the moment. 5G appears to bring lots of exciting opportunities for both the consumer and enterprise worlds. The question is, is the conversation around 5G all hype or will it be a reality?
Craig and Adrian discuss the following crucial questions:
* What does 5G bring? How does it compare to existing technologies available in the market?
* 5G in the UK Market: Who are the key players, how useable is it today?
* What is the outlook for 5G for the next 3 years?
* What should be listeners be considering when it comes to 5G?
If you would like to find out more about how TNC can help you, and your organisation, we would be delighted to talk to you and share our experience and knowledge. Please get in touch using…
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Jan 19, 2021
How To Achieve Sustainable Remote Working
TNC's CEO, John Waterhouse discusses how organisations can achieve sustainable remote working with TNC’s CTO, Craig Northveth in Down The Wire Podcast’s 5th Episode.
A huge topic for the “next normal” is going to be how, where, and when employees work. In pre-pandemic times, the majority of employees worked from the office and organisations built their network and telecoms infrastructure accordingly. For many organisations, this quickly had to change in the early days of the pandemic as they rushed to enable most of their employees to work from home.
The question now is what model will prevail post-pandemic, and what network and telecoms infrastructure will be required to enable this model?
TNC has been developing a tool kit to help organisations to develop models that enable sustainable remote working – not just for the duration of an emergency but for the long term. The tool kit consists of three key approaches TNC has identified that organisations can take to build thei…
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Dec 9, 2020
How to Build, Deploy and Manage an Agile Global Network with Matt Jago
TNC's CEO, John Waterhouse interviews Matt Jago, Head of Information Systems Operations at Sightsavers, for the 4th Down The Wire Podcast Episode: How to Build, Deploy and Manage an Agile Global Network.
Matt Jago is one of the highest profile IT leaders in the UK, both as a result of his work at Sightsavers, as well as his long term contribution to the Charity IT Leaders organisation, which brings together CIOs from the UK’s largest charities and NGOs.
With the rise of cloud-based applications, a huge increase in the agility requirement for network and telecoms, and the vast uptake of remote working as a result of Covid, many organisations are scrambling to build new infrastructures to support these new challenges.
Matt and his team have spent many years developing innovative ways to deliver network and telephony services to their global users. As a result Sightsavers has been very early adopters of some strategies that are now becoming much more mainstream, including using inter…
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Oct 21, 2020
The Future of Contact Centre and Customer Engagement
Hosted by TNC's CEO, John Waterhouse, and CTO, Craig Northveth, Down The Wire Podcast brings you Episode 3: The Future of Contact Centre and Customer Engagement.
Contact centre leaders are facing a new set of challenges in order to fulfil their operational and strategic objectives. These challenges are driven by a combination of customer expectations, the evolution of technology and, of course, the Covid-19 pandemic.
Throughout 2020 TNC has been tracking trends across the Contact Centre marketplace. The most interesting findings are the rise of natural language processing and AI to capture caller’s intent, route (and where possible self-serve) customer queries, and of course the enormous shift to agents working from home.
We have been advising our clients on how to respond to and maximise the opportunities of the changing face of Contact Centre. Listen now to explore the approaches our clients have taken to identify, design, and implement new technologies, and ways of working, to…
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Sep 21, 2020
Key Actions to Make Network Transformation Cost Effective with Ed Hutt
Hosted by TNC's CEO, John Waterhouse, and CTO, Craig Northveth, Down The Wire Podcast brings you Episode 2: '*Key Actions to Make Network Transformation Cost Effective'. *The world is divided into those who have started to transform and those who know they need to transform. However, the reality is developing this type of strategy is hard – balancing the complex demands and complex technologies to come up with a coherent strategy, and then being able to execute it is very difficult.
We are delighted to have our special guest and transformation expert, Ed Hutt, guide us through these challenges. *Ed is one of the highest-profile CIOs and Transformation Directors in the UK, having spent over a decade leading digital transformation programmes in a number of FTSE organisations, including British Gas, William Morrisons Supermarkets, Fitness First, SIG, and, most recently, Impellam.*
The three questions we tackle in the episode are:
- How can you free up budget to fund transformation?…
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Jul 14, 2020
Secure Home Working: Making it a robust reality for the remote workforce
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced an almost-immediate switch to remote working for many organisations. Despite most of these companies already having a secure remote access solution, the majority of them were not designed to cater for their entire workforce, therefore we have seen our customers needing to replace, or supplement, their existing capabilities with interim solutions.
It is very likely that increased home working will become the “new norm” for many businesses, therefore now is the right time to consider how to bolster up the technology, processes and procedures to not only provide secure remote access, but to enable a cost effective, secure home working environment.
Hosted by TNC's CEO, John Waterhouse, and CTO, Craig Northveth.
Music by
Riptide by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4288-riptide
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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