Telstra Programmable Network is answer to COVID-19 isolation and remote working

In these uncharted times of global pandemic, Telstra Programmable Network (TPN) could be the answer for organisations that need to react swiftly to scale and provision a remote workforce.

Perfect solution for COVID-19 isolated workforce

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has disrupted operations with prolonged impacts on business continuity, mode of working and growth patterns.

Already many Australian companies are instructing their employees to work from home and, if worldwide trends are anything to go by, this could soon extend to many more of us.   

Telstra Programmable Network could be the answer for organisations who need to quickly provide private network access to an increased number of remote workers.  It is designed to deliver secure, flexible and on-demand connectivity and could be the ideal solution for an organisation to quickly provide connectivity and scale bandwidth to support a remote workforce, says MobileCorp solution architect, Peter Pouw.

"The beauty of Telstra Programmable Network is that it is able to be conceptualised, procured and implemented within days, whereas alternative network technologies would traditionally take weeks or months. It is the fastest network tool that Telstra has.

"The solution is also able to be prepared and 'held ready' to be provisioned if required. With consumption-based pricing, organisations only pay for what they use, and can also choose a duration from one hour, to one week, to one month or year."

Many Australian businesses already had remote working access in place prior to COVID-19, with either a VPN or through Office 365, but the planning scenario was unlikely to envisage an entire 'at home' workforce, says Pouw.

"Many IT teams have remote access mechanisms in place but they have never had to scale bandwidth to cope with all their employees working remotely. There is also the matter of security to consider, the budget implications, and the capacity of in-house IT resource.

"The logical tool is to spin up a virtual network service which is compatible with MPLS and SD-WAN, that has next generation security, and instantly scalable bandwidth, all delivered over a globally-connected high performance network. The bonus is TPN has the ability to be activated as business continuity within a framework that is 'pay as you go.'"

Transparent costing model, minimal capital outlay 

TPN is Australia’s first 'Network as a Service' solution. It is an on-demand networking platform and all costs are transparent and known in advance. There is no upfront capital investment and no charge to register a network. 

"The cost of preparing a custom network is only in the licensing of any virtual equipment required and in preparations to connect remote users. MobileCorp has a professional service which will design the network architecture, set up virtual appliances, procure the licensing, and connect remote users.

"TPN is the fastest and least labour-intensive solution available, and has only been possible in the  last 24 months due to the emergence of cloud computing."

TPN has 36 POPs globally including one in each of Sydney and Melbourne. The virtual network service was launched two years ago and has a proven track record with well-known Australian enterprises including Jetstar, Weir Minerals, and Ticketek.