How To Manage Infrastructure Changes – An Example
A couple of weeks ago I received a call from the owner of one of our customer’s locations. He wanted to touch base about a pending Internet circuit switch to a faster speed which would require an IP address change. He had the date when the ISP would be coming in to switch out their equipment, so we scheduled a time for me to be available for any help that may be needed.
It was critical that business was not interrupted, so I suggested that the switch be done after closing time, to which he agreed. I also asked for him to keep me in the loop with all of the scheduling on the ISP/Phone Co. side in case there were any changes.
On the scheduled day I phoned my specified contact to confirm the appointment and asked that before anything gets switch over or off to give me a call so I can make the necessary changes to the companies equipment. At the time specified, I received a call from the ISP’s tech to inform me he was ready for me to make my changes. I logged in remotely to their system, made my changes, the ISP tech made his changes and with in a few seconds they were switched over to the new circuit, Internet access was tested, questions were answered and it was done. Normal business was unaffected by any changes made, the owner was happy with the speed and relative easy it was to switch. The users saw a seamless change.
In contrast, if none of the planning is done, this could of been a nightmare for the business. It could of lost thousands of dollars by not having access to the Internet to research or order parts, or authorize credit card transactions.
The owner did everything correctly.
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He gave plenty of advanced notice of when and what was going to change.
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He scheduled a time for CCS to be available instead of calling at the last minute to say "Nothings Working"
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He specified a single point of contact that was aware and informed of what was taking place
Those 3 things alone made the work that needed to be done a 15 minute support call verses a possible on-site 2 hour support call. And a problem where the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing.
If you have any system questions or concerns, call the CCS Retail Support Department at 800-672-4806 or email us.
-Bryan