Overcoming challenges in Global Internet deployment for businesses
Deploying Global Internet solutions can be complicated at the best of times, and businesses operating on an international scale can encounter additional challenges. From navigating regulatory issues to ensuring consistent service quality across different regions, enterprises must address many obstacles to achieve reliable global connectivity. Keep reading to explore the common challenges faced during Global Internet deployment and gain tangible strategies to overcome these hurdles.
Understanding the challenges of Global Internet deployment
In short, Global Internet deployment involves integrating various technologies and services to provide seamless connectivity across different regions. However, there are many things that can impact the success of your deployment.
We’ve detailed some of the common challenges you can expect below.
Regulatory compliance: Navigating a complex landscape
One of the most significant challenges in Global Internet deployment is navigating the complex and often varied regulatory landscape of different countries. Each nation has its own set of regulations and policies regarding Internet usage, data privacy, cybersecurity, and more that you need to comply with.
We’ve laid out the main challenges you could encounter and a solution to help you overcome them.
Key regulatory challenges you should know:
- Data privacy laws: Laws regarding data privacy and protection vary from country to country. For example, there’s the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) in Singapore and the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) in China to contend with for companies operating across the APAC region. And in Europe there’s the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that imposes strict requirements on how businesses handle personal data.
- Cybersecurity regulations: Countries may have specific regulations regarding cybersecurity practices. Compliance with these regulations is essential to protect sensitive data and maintain trust with customers and partners.
- Telecommunications regulations: Some countries have stringent regulations governing the operation of telecommunications networks. Businesses must navigate these regulations to establish and maintain their Internet infrastructure.
The solution to complex regulations:
Invest in comprehensive regulatory compliance programs. This includes staying informed about relevant laws, conducting regular compliance audits, and working with legal experts to ensure adherence to local regulations.
Additionally, partnering with Global Internet service providers that have experience and expertise in navigating regulatory landscapes can help streamline compliance efforts.
Varying service quality: Ensuring consistent performance
Another significant challenge in Global Internet deployment is the varying quality and availability of Internet services across different locations and sites. It can be very difficult managing Internet service offerings as the requirements will be different for every site.
While some areas have advanced infrastructure and high-speed connectivity, others may suffer from limited options and slower speeds. This disparity can create issues for businesses that require consistent performance across their operations.
Key service quality challenges you could encounter:
- Infrastructure variability: The quality of Internet infrastructure can vary significantly between urban and rural areas, as well as between developed and developing countries. This can impact the speed, reliability, latency and availability of Internet services.
- Bandwidth availability: In some regions, bandwidth availability may be limited. This could mean a maximum bandwidth on the last mile, and for outgoing and incoming traffic, leading to slower Internet speeds and reduced performance for bandwidth-intensive applications.
- Network congestion: High levels of network congestion in certain areas can lead to increased latency and reduced quality of service, affecting critical business applications.
The solution to varying service quality:
Leverage technologies like SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) that optimize traffic flow and provide reliable application access. SD-WAN allows enterprises to use multiple Internet connections (e.g., broadband, LTE, 4G/5G, LEO and hybrid MPLS/SD-WAN) connected to the edge device that selects that Internet connection that gives the better application performance. Allowing your teams to connect to business-critical applications and have the same user experience anywhere in the world.
Also, working with managed service providers that offer global coverage and high-quality services can help mitigate the impact of infrastructure variability and ensure reliable connectivity across regions.
Vendor management: Coordinating multiple providers
Managing multiple vendors is another challenge in Global Internet deployment. Enterprises often need to work with various ISPs and service providers to ensure comprehensive coverage.
Coordinating between these vendors, negotiating contracts, and resolving issues can be time-consuming and complex.
Key vendor management challenges:
- Coordination complexity: You can often need multiple suppliers for just one site, as well as spanning all of your locations. Coordinating between multiple suppliers (whether in-region or across different regions) can make you susceptible to delays and miscommunications.
- Contract negotiation: Negotiating contracts with multiple providers can be complex and may require significant time and resources.
- Invoicing: Managing multiple invoices in different currencies and languages can make Accounts Payable very complex.
- Issue resolution: Resolving issues where different vendors are involved can be difficult, especially when dealing with service disruptions or performance problems.
- Culture and logistics: Resolving any quality issues when you’re managing vendors from different cultures, languages, and time zones can add another layer of complexity.
The solution complex vendor management:
To overcome vendor management challenges, businesses can work with managed service providers that offer end-to-end management of Global Internet connectivity. These providers handle everything from installation and configuration to ongoing maintenance and support, simplifying vendor management and ensuring consistent performance.
You should also establish clear communication channels and protocols for issue resolution, ensuring that problems are addressed promptly and effectively.
Network traffic optimization: Maximizing performance
Optimizing network traffic is crucial for ensuring that Global Internet solutions deliver the desired performance. Network traffic optimization involves managing and prioritizing data flows to reduce packet loss, prevent congestion, and enhance the overall user experience.
Key network traffic optimization challenges:
- Packet loss: Reducing packet loss is critical for real-time applications like VoIP and video conferencing. High packet loss can lead to interruptions and poor user experiences.
- Bandwidth management: Efficiently managing available bandwidth is essential to ensure that critical applications receive the necessary resources while preventing congestion.
The solution to maximize performance:
To enhance performance, utilize network traffic optimization tools and technologies like TCP or IP accelerators, Wide Area Acceleration Services (WaaS ) and BGP optimization solutions, like Enhanced Internet from Expereo.
You can also use advanced monitoring, visbility and analytics tools can provide insights into network performance, enabling proactive management and optimization of traffic flows, like expereoOne.
Overcoming deployment challenges: Best practices
By adopting best practices, you can effectively overcome the challenges associated with Global Internet deployment and ensure reliable, high-performance connectivity.
Best practices for regulatory compliance:
- Stay informed: Regularly monitor changes in regulations and ensure that compliance programs are up-to-date.
- Conduct audits: Perform regular compliance audits to identify and address any gaps or issues.
- Engage experts: Work with legal and regulatory experts to navigate complex laws and ensure adherence to local requirements.
Best practices for ensuring service quality:
- Leverage SD-WAN: Utilize SD-WAN technology as it will optimize traffic flow between Internet connections by selecting the best-performing Internet connection
- Implement Enhanced Internet: Use Enhanced Internet to optimize the Internet itself, ensuring your traffic always takes the best-performing route so you always have predictable application performance globally.
- Partner with reliable providers: Choose service providers with a proven track record of delivering high-quality services and comprehensive global coverage.
- Monitor performance: Implement monitoring tools to track network performance and address issues promptly.
Best practices for vendor management:
- Simplify management: Work with managed service providers that offer end-to-end management of global connectivity.
- Establish protocols: Set up clear communication channels and protocols for coordinating with vendors and resolving issues.
- Negotiate effectively: Negotiate contracts that include Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to ensure accountability and performance standards.
Best practices for network traffic optimization:
- Combine SD-WAN with QoS policies: If you have an SD-WAN overlay, you can use Quality of Service (QoS) policies to prioritize traffic based on application requirements.
- Use analytics tools: Deploy monitoring and analytics tools to gain insights into network performance and optimize traffic flows.
- Proactive management: Use Event Driven Automation (EDA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automatically respond and resolve events.
Remove the complexity when deploying Global Internet solutions with Expereo
We know you face challenges when deploying Global Internet, that’s why working with Expereo as your managed service provider makes sense. We manage your regulatory compliance needs across every region, ensure consistent service quality, and manage your vendors, all while optimizing your traffic flow with the right blend of connectivity solutions.
Get in touch today to discuss how we can achieve reliable and high-performance global connectivity for your enterprise.