DataVox Enters Network Management Realm

DataVox

DNA NetSensor provides remote fault monitoring and performance optimization for customers ranging from SOHO users to enterprise clients, said Norbert Sluzewski, president of DataVox Technologies, New York.

"It's a complete enterprise-level remote network management solution for customers who don't have network management software installed or who do but choose not to use it because of the considerable oversight, management and personnel required to run it," said Sluzewski.

DataVox uses a secure VPN connection to link the network operations center housed within its New York data center to clients' infrastructure. Using a predetermined, customized notification system, the service provides alerts to clients if there are equipment failures.

Clients also have Web-based access to monitor their network status, he said.

"It requires no equipment to be placed at the customer's site," he said.

The service also tracks historical performance and utilization data, which helps clients with capacity planning, said Sluzewski.

"We can forecast that [equipment has to be upgraded or that they need to add another server," he said.

In addition, DataVox can monitor the physical environment where a customer's infrastructure is housed for things such as the temperature of the data center or the opening of a door at 3 a.m. on a Saturday. There's also an option to add video monitoring, said Sluzewski.

For one DataVox client, the decision to migrate from an implementation of HP OpenView network management software to the NetSensor service was more a matter of customer satisfaction rather than cost savings, said Tim Mallon, director of IT at NatSource, an over-the-counter energy broker in New York.

"Support from HP was horrendous. Anytime we had questions it was brutal getting anyone on the phone," said Mallon, noting that he and his staff would often wait on hold for two hours to get customer support.

It's a problem Mallon said he has not faced with DataVox.

"We liked the fact that they're not that big of a company. There aren't a whole lot of hops to the top if there's a problem," Mallon said.

NatSource pays DataVox about $600 to $700 per month to manage its network, which spans four locations and includes 12 servers, about five routers, a variety of switches and several firewalls, Mallon said.

"We don't keep a big staff here. We try to run lean and mean," he said.

DataVox offers four different versions of the NetSensor service, each geared toward a different size of client.

The low-end offering for SOHO clients with up to 10 nodes is priced around $500 per month. An offering for SMB clients with around 25 employees and two to five servers costs around $1,500 per month. A corporate edition that includes additional security features is priced around $2,500 per month, and the high-end enterprise version for clients with more than 100 nodes and multiple offices is priced around $5,000 per month.

DataVox also provides Web- and application-hosting services as well as network services, security, disaster recovery and cable infrastructure design.

The company plans to open a second redundant New York data center this spring, Sluzewski said.