Services and Solutions

The rapid deployment of complex data, voice, and video services by the Government has increased the need for various agencies and departments to partner with a reliable technology partner that understands the requirements of Government voice and data networks as well has the ability to deliver these services via a proper contract vehicle.

INX solutions have enabled various Federal, State and Local agencies to deploy new and differentiated IP services such as converged VoIP and Video. INX offers the highest level of quality in terms of service delivery with proven engineering methodologies and program management that mitigate risk and maximizes the Governments Return on Investment. The backbone of INX operations and the delivery of its services is the suite of systems that provides the information necessary for successful engagements. Between the Resource Management System, Client Collaboration System, and Knowledge Management System, INX has the application infrastructure in place that allows us to manage engagements of any size or scope.

Service Delivery Methodology

Regardless of the engagement, network consultants follow our predetermined service delivery methodology to ensure consistency, completeness, and accuracy. At the conclusion of each phase of the Service Delivery Methodology, documentation is provided to the client which acts as the reference point for any future development.

Assessment

Understanding a client's existing network architecture, including devices, topology, locations, applications, users, traffic patterns, segment capacity, and circuit capacity provides critical information for baselining. Understanding the organization's business, the direction of the organization and users needs dictates the business requirements of the network. Together, these elements form an assessment answering the important questions of who, what, where, and why. The next step is how.

Design

To maximize the dollars invested by the client, INX crafts network designs tied to standards-based technologies that are reliable, scalable, and meet all of the technical specifications documented in the Assessment. Our strong alliance with the top technology providers allows us access to current product releases and updates that often make a significant difference in the design and the longevity of the infrastructure.

Proof of Concept

The size of the network and the potential financial loss from downtime determine the extent to which the Proof of Concept phase is conducted. Service Providers whose network supports countless users' traffic cannot afford for new network devices to negatively impact traffic flows or cause network outages. In these or similar cases, INX will conduct an extensive battery of tests in a non-production setting to mitigate any opportunity for production failures.

Implementation

Senior Network Consultants and Project Managers work together collaboratively to ensure correct configuration and a seamless cutover to the new network devices. Our technology expertise, project experience, and defined processes provide precision as the designed devices are converted to the production environment.

Post-Project Assessment

INX conducts a thorough assessment following the implementation phase of a project to validate that all items documented in the scope of work have been completed to the satisfaction of the client. In addition, we ensure that the technical implementation accomplishes the business objectives that were the catalyst for the project. Our objectives are to provide closure for the project, ensure that the client has received the best-of-class services that were expected, and to learn something from every project.

Support

Understanding that networks are dynamic and require management, monitoring, and modifications, INX provides various support programs such as NetSurant so our clients' networks function as expected from the very next day after the implementation and for years following. This support can take the form of 24x7x365 monitoring, 24x7x365 call support, on-site support, or periodic consultation on an as-needed basis.

Consulting Service Practice Areas

INX established a broad, yet finite set of practice areas in order to meet the network services needs of our existing and prospective clients. It is frequent in the industry that technical services organizations position themselves to provide services without maintaining the technical resources internally. With INX this is not the case. We maintain a core team of senior consulting engineers skilled in all of our existing, focused practice areas: Network Design & Implementation, Voice/Data Convergence, Security, Network Management, and Data Center Architecture.

Network Design and Implementation

As INX's primary practice, we focus on the design and deployment of high-performance, high-availability data communications networks. Our network consultants use hardware and software to create and/or migrate local area, campus area, metro area, or wide area networks with the performance, scalability, and reliability that meets the business and technology needs of the client. Components of this practice area are:

Internet Backbone Design

The design and implementation of service provider networks utilizing core routing protocols and optical technology, including BGP and MPLS.

Network Infrastructure Design

The assessment, design, and implementation of network enabled distributed computing environments and communications systems using routing, switching, and wireless technologies.

Remote Access

The design and implementation of secure, high-performance remote access and virtual private network solutions for our clients to their geographically distributed associates and business supply-chain partners.

Wireless (802.11a/b/g) LAN & MAN Design

The design and implementation of 802.11a/b/g wireless technology to deliver network access wirelessly to users in a LAN or MAN environment, or to wirelessly bridge together network segments where physical cabling is impossible, impractical, or cost-prohibitive.

Voice/Data Convergence

The era of converged voice and data infrastructure is within sight. The maturity of technology used to packetize voice and route it across an IP or ATM backbone will significantly reduce costs for both providers and users. INX provides clients the expertise to evaluate and integrate available Voice over IP (VoIP) solutions, which include network architecture, call management systems, voice gateways and messaging systems. The experiences that INX has gained through numerous implementations, coupled with the certifications of consulting engineers, allow us to intelligently design and deploy converged communications networks.

Security

INX’s Security practice is focused on providing organizations with security technology and processes that enable them to mitigate risk to corporate resources and data. Balancing business needs with security technology, we enable our clients to make clear, informed decisions regarding the protection of their valuable assets. The following elements combine to minimize the risk within an environment:

Risk Assessment

Every organization's objective pertaining to security is to mitigate risk. However, it is even more important to determine the organizations' tolerance for intrusion, or determine what is at stake. Comparing potential financial loss and impact of network threats helps us design a sensible and cost effective risk management plan for our clients.

Policy Design

A security policy sets out rules and principles which determine the way an organization approaches security. It leads to the specification of the agreed conditions of use of an organization's resources for users and other clients. It also sets out the rights that they can expect with that use. Ultimately, a security policy exists to prevent the loss of an asset or its value. A security breach can easily lead to such a loss, regardless of whether the security breach occurred as a result of a hardware error, software error, or malicious action internal or external to the organization.

Hardening Solutions

Hardening solutions offer a host of services that, on a daily basis, protect information assets by securing the environment and defensively protecting the network against attacks and unauthorized access.

Management and Monitoring

Part of protecting an environment is to know that what is in place is working and to also understand who might be attempting to penetrate that protection. Implementing a secure environment requires proper management and monitoring of the tools and procedures to protect information assets. It should be determined that each aspect of the environment is not only functioning, but functioning as documented in the organization's policies.

Critical Response

The possibility for a penetration, however strong you make your protection, exists. It is imperative that planning, policies, and procedures are in place, should a breach occur, to establish immediate response and close the compromise.

Network Management

The dynamic nature of a network, the users, the devices, and traffic flow demand the use of a network management solution in order to achieve a high level of performance from the network. Through various management applications, INX provides solutions for enterprise management or remote management of network devices. Our consultants can design and implement an active management system that provides the information for making adjustment recommendations to the network before there are performance issues. Network managers often struggle with the ability for a limited number of IT resources to manage a diverse, vast network. With an SNMP-based network management system, the application manages the status of each device and intelligently organizes the information for a network manager to make informed decisions about their network. Common benefits of network management are: the ability to avoid downtime, improve problem resolution, discovery and monitoring of devices, notification of failures, isolation of issues, root-cause analysis, and increased productivity.

Data Center Architecture

In addition to a growing need of enterprise data centers, the incredible growth of internet communications has led to the development of hosting and co-location companies that provide the brick and mortar infrastructure for e-commerce. The design and development of these facilities requires a diverse set of expertise, from the leading-edge technologies that manage the flow of communications to the power and cooling systems that establish the appropriate environmental conditions. INX provides the network expertise and project management for the design and development of leading-edge data centers tailored specifically to the business needs of the client. We manage the consideration of carrier's bandwidth required at the facility, the configurations of the server/hardware racks, needs for load-balancing and content delivery devices, and the routing and switching devices that oversee all communications. INX partners with other quality organizations to provide the facilities construction. These elements include the understanding and implementation of power specifications, systems resilience, building security and access control, fire control, air conditioning, and staff facilities. INX's success in data center design is the understanding and management of diverse technologies and providers, and the careful integration of these components. Combining leading products across multiple industries allows us to construct the size and scale of data centers to fit the business model of our clients.

Systems based approach

Our systems-based approach to providing professional services allows our Services Delivery Methodology to flow smoothly across all of our practice areas. Each system on its own provides information valuable to an engagement; together, they manage the necessary sharing of information between INX and its clients. Further, the systems are web-hosted, allowing ubiquitous access to our corporate office staff, on-site consultants, and clients.

Resource Management System

The resource management tool maps the most appropriate consulting engineer with a project, based on skill sets, availability, location, and duration of the engagement. INX's engagement manager is able to view past engagements, current engagements, and opportunities in the pipeline to assist with the assignment of resources to a project.

Client Collaboration System

The client collaboration system is the conduit for the passage of information between INX and the client before, during and after an engagement. Within the system is a repository for project-related documents which allows for an electronic signature process with time/date stamping. In addition, our consulting engineers can share their time cards and project expense information with the client for review and electronic approval.

Knowledge Management System

INX maintains best practice documentation, previous project plans, post-project assessments, technical bulletins and other valuable information in the knowledge management system, governed by individual user through access policies. Users, with the appropriate permissions, can view documentation that will provide assistance with current and future engagements.

Technologies

The set of technologies supported by INX is the engine that makes the professional services machine run. Each of the practice areas is associated with data and voice communication technologies; protocols, standards, topologies, bandwidth management techniques and more. While this is not the focal point related to how the services are deployed, the technologies work together to form the solution for the client. The following technologies are grouped between Local Area Network (LAN) and Metropolitan & Wide Area Networks (MAN/WAN) for reference purposes. Technologies listed below represent topologies, protocols, transmission types, media and products for which INX has trained, experienced and certified consulting engineers.

Professional Services

• Network Design and Implementation
• Voice over IP (VoIP) Network Design & Implementation
• JITC PBX1 Voice over IP Network Design & Implementation
• Video over IP (VoIP) Network Design & Implementation
• Converged Voice, Video and Data Networks
• Internet Backbone Design
• Network Infrastructure Design
• Remote Access
• Wireless (802.11a/b/g) LAN & MAN Design
• Network Security
• Risk Assessment
• Policy Design
• Hardening Solutions
• Management and Monitoring
• Critical Response
• Network Management
• Data Center Architecture
• Resource Management
• Client Collaboration
• Knowledge Management