7SIGMA SYSTEMS, INC.

Urgent: Your Supply Chain Challenges Aren’t Over Yet

7/27/2022

We spend a lot of time talking to carriers and suppliers across the country and industry. Unfortunately, the news we’re hearing isn’t great:

A carrier in Texas mentioned that their fiber order may take up to 105 weeks - more than two years - to be delivered.
Vendors are finally able to provide certain models of routers, but the power supplies won’t be available until at least March of next year, 9 months from now!

Most of all, we’re hearing more and more of the same concerns that keep you up at night. Can our network handle normal growth for the next 2-3 years? Are we prepared to take on our anticipated growth from our grant build outs? What if we can’t get critical infrastructure when/if we need it? When should I be ordering equipment? Do we have enough spares to take us through a critical outage? And unfortunately, this list goes on and on.

We’re all worried. Fortunately, there’s good news! 7Sigma can help you plan for the future and ensure your business can get the infrastructure you need to keep your network running.

First, we can do an audit of your network and provide a Roadmap which helps identify any weak spots or issues to be aware of over the next 2-3 years. From there, we’ll compare those weak spots to what we’re hearing from suppliers about delivery times and pricing and help you come up with options.

Our Roadmaps offer insight into what you’ll need to order now - ensuring that you get what you need when you need it. We’ll identify areas where spares might be critically needed and provide opportunities to find those spares on the gray market. We’ll also help determine what you can hold off ordering or provide creative alternate short term solutions.

Additionally, our team at 7Sigma has been working with other rural providers to provide options that can work for you.

We’ve initiated having a group of 7 providers pool their resources together and create a spares list to share equipment should the need arise.

And our 7Sigma team is working with several companies to provide alternatives to the routers without power supplies available.

We don’t have a crystal ball, and we don’t know what will happen next. But we can help you solve your critical business challenges today.

How to buy software

7/7/2022

We know you have a business to run. And we know you already have a lot on your to-do list. Figuring out software doesn’t need to be added - we’re here to help. Here are our 15 tips and lessons learned from years of experience in this space!

Think about what you need! Odds are that there’s already a solution out there that will help. Make a list of what you’d like. And then ask around internally to make sure you don’t already have something that can do that!
Figure out your key stakeholders well before you start looking for a software provider. Let those people know what you’re thinking about. They may be able to offer recommendations on tools, or on who to talk to. Mostly, though, you’ll get a sense of what they might need or want from a product - which lets you fill out your list of what you want and helps avoid that awkward “Oh, I thought it would do this…” conversation after you’ve bought a product.
Once you have a list of things you’d like technology to solve for your business, schedule some time with your team. Outline what functionality you need and would like ahead of time. If possible, prioritize it into three lists: must-haves, would like to have, and nice to have but not important. Most software companies will show up with a list of hundreds of things that their toolsets can do. Make sure it does what you need first - and can do it well!
Time to do your research! Conferences, networking groups, or searches here on Linkedin can be a great way to get a sense of what software solutions are out there. Ask your peers what tools they’re using to automate their business processes too. Most of us are happy to share information when you reach out. Talk to people - and don’t be afraid to ask pointed questions about what works and what doesn’t!
Now that you have a list of prospective providers, reach out to those providers with a list of questions. Listen carefully to the answers! Does the software currently offer the functionality you need? Will it help you streamline your current processes? If the answer is no, it’s not the solution for you. If the answer is yes, how easy is it to access that functionality? Are your requirements features of the software, or just tricky workarounds? Make sure to confirm that the software’s current version offers the automation and processes you need as part of its current iteration, and make sure it’s designed to do what you need it to do!
Don’t settle for the phrase “it’s on our roadmap” - or similar phrases like “we’re building it now and would love to get your feedback.” That’s an easy way for a salesperson to say that they might at some point have the feature or toolset you want - but don’t have right now. Even if they show you your roadmap, remember that roadmaps change. Priorities shift. Their vision for the software may change before they get to that item, or a bigger client may request something else entirely and push your request to the bottom of the list. You want software designed to do what you need it to do today. Think of a riding lawnmower. It can get you from one place to another… but it doesn’t replace a car. Don’t settle for a lawnmower.
Separate the salesperson from the software. This is hard to do, especially after you’ve developed a good relationship. Unfortunately, salespeople are busy, and while you may talk to them frequently leading up to the sale, you may not hear from them again until it’s time to renew. Find out who will be your day-to-day contact and understand who (if anyone) you’ll be able to reach out to with questions after the deal closes. What experience will your day-to-day contact have with your business and your industry? Do they know what keeps you up at night?
Know what you’re buying. There are different types of software packaging. The apps you buy for your smartphone, for example, or software you purchase once a year to do your taxes, is subscription-based software. You pay a subscription fee, and you get a specific, unchangeable product. Software as a service (or SAAS) is not the same thing. SAAS products typically include full and responsive support, an onboarding process, and ongoing interactions with the team that built the software – all for one annual or monthly fee. You want a SAAS toolset with all of the support it provides.
Along with the category of software you’re buying (SAAS vs subscription), you’ll want to understand how easy it is to get started with the software. After you purchase it, will you need to find a team of developers to help you install it? Or pay for a series of “integrations” that someone will need to build to connect your existing tools to the software? Will you have to pay for training on how to use it? Always confirm the steps (and additional costs, if any) to begin using the software before you buy.
Make sure the company you’re planning on buying software from knows how to make software! Functionality and user experience are critical. If your vendor is focused mainly on hardware, take a close look at how well their software offerings work. One great way to understand this: ask how well the software works with hardware products that aren’t their own. Unfortunately, especially now that supply chain issues have impacted supply, hardware companies are pushing software to have something to sell. If it’s not their main product, move cautiously.
Find out who supports the software, and how. Does the company you’re buying from have developers on staff? Are they writing their own software, or outsourcing it to another firm while they focus on building hardware? If they do have developers on their team, do those developers understand how you work, and what your workflow will be on a daily basis, and how your business operates? Have those developers ever worked directly inside a firm like yours?
Compare prices. Ask what the pricing model is, and don’t be afraid to ask about the cost. Once you have that, understand how it fits into your budget. For carriers, the revenue-generating unit is usually the subscriber per month. If an average subscriber pays $50 a month, and the software costs $5 per month - can you really afford to spend 10% of your revenue on it? Make sure you understand the value that you’ll be getting for that cost.
Ask about price increases. When was the last time they did one? How much was it? How often do they raise prices? Feel comfortable asking for the names of a few customers to validate this. And take a look at market pressures too. If you’re buying from a hardware company that sells software too, but can’t sell any hardware because of the supply chain - what’s the likelihood that they’ll raise the price of the software to make up for the hardware shortages?
Get references. While it doesn’t hurt to ask your salesperson for references, remember that those people will be listed because they’ve agreed to give a positive review. Ask around for other sources. Asking your peers what they think - at conferences, via LinkedIn, through industry networking groups, etc can lead to more reliable information. Be sure your questions are designed to get the answers you need. Even if people haven’t used the software directly, they may have insight into the company’s reputation.
You’ve made it to the contract stage! Read the contract terms carefully, and understand what you’re giving up in exchange for any discount. One shortcut some software companies will take is to ask you to sign multi-year agreements, in exchange for a discounted or locked-in price. The downside? If the software isn’t right for your team, or if those promised “on our roadmap” features never materialize, you’re stuck paying for years of software you’ll never use.

Buying software requires a lot of knowledge - technical, financial, and legal. We’re always here to help you every step of the way! You can see our complete top 15 software buying tips on the blog here. Or, send us a note - we’re always happy to talk through them with you!

Potential impacts of the ukraine invasion

4/7/2022

We’re watching the Ukraine situation closely, but we’re watching the potential fallout even more closely. Russia controls a lot of the raw materials we rely on to power our technology - titanium, palladium. China uses those to create our technology, and though we trade with them, we’re not aligned politically. When we add those concerns to the existing supply chain issues, oil prices, astronomically increased threat of cyberattacks, and the growing spread of disinformation, we see a lot of risks that could change our industry and the world as we know it.
In our industry, we’re all aware of the increased threat of cyberattacks coming out of Russia. IMO, wipers - the idea that the malware can totally wipe out a machine's software code making it unusable - are the real threat. An attack on one is an attack on all when it comes to malicious code. The code they are slinging back and forth in the attack on Ukraine most certainly will end up elsewhere. We saw that in 2017 (NotPetya, WannaCry, Equifax) and it cost the world billions.
Across the US, we have a lot of unprotected critical infrastructure. Our hospitals, our energy and power sector, our water supply, and of course our telecommunications all depend on technology that is vulnerable to cyberattacks, ransomware, DDOS attacks, and wipers. And, of course, the supply chain issues that started with COVID have made it incredibly challenging to upgrade critical equipment that could be used for protection. In my opinion, we’re not ready as a country for what could come up.
We all need to exercise a 3 part strategy to protect against cyberattacks, wipers, and ransomware. First and foremost, we need to harden our systems to make it as hard as possible for offenders to have an impact. Then we need to create a lot of urgency and momentum around this and warn everyone involved in the business of the impact an attack could have. Third, we need to make sure our incident response teams are prepared to get systems back up as quickly as possible, and have a tested, supported plan in place to do that.
Even if you have a cyberattack mitigation plan in place, you’re still going to have some challenges with business continuity. Those are going to be exacerbated by the inability to get critical hardware in a timely way and the ongoing challenges in hiring good cybersecurity experts. So make sure you’re doing everything you can to be efficient with capacity - peering, caching, etc. Know what attacks might come up (DDOS, blackholing, wipers, ransomware, and so on) and have a plan for each. And find a firm (like ours) that knows what they’re doing and can help.
Of course, the increased threat of cyberattacks are only one of the issues our industry is facing now. We’re also dealing with the impact of supply chain slowdowns. These started with COVID, but they’re going to continue to grow as the price of oil and gas becomes higher, and Russia stops allowing exports (or countries stop accepting them) of its critical raw materials. So, we’re estimating that these shortages will continue for at least another year, and maybe much longer than that.
Gas prices are now at the highest levels they’ve ever been in the United States. Unless something changes we may be seeing prices this high for the next 6-9 months. What does that mean for your teams? Your people are going to have to pay more to get to work. Some of your subscribers may revert back to working from home, or start working from home more, to avoid paying the high cost of gas, which means they’re going to have higher bandwidth demands during the day. Each of your truck rolls will be more expensive - but we can help you reduce those costs.
It’s already hard to find good people. Unemployment rates are the lowest they’ve been in years. It’s particularly challenging to find people in your area with the types of skillsets they need to do the job. I believe that, as the information technology environment changes, the deep knowledge required is only going to increase, making it even more difficult to find the right people.
I also expect this crisis to lead to growing amounts of disinformation. First, we’re going to see that directly with Russia. Despite the efforts of hackers to open up the information environment for the average Russian, the country is moving towards levels of information control that rival North Korea and China. That means that their own people aren’t going to hear anything positive about the US and may start to believe what they hear. That makes them more willing to view the US as a target.
We’re already seeing state control of media expanding in Russia. We should also expect growing amounts of disinformation targeted at the US from Russia and its allies. Social media is too easy to manipulate and the platforms are too slow or too unwilling to block or censor bad-actor content. And since lies tend to spread far more quickly and widely on social media than the truth, these bad actors are able to sow disinformation and falsehood throughout our own communities.
Overall, there are a lot of reasons to watch this conflict very closely. Increased cyberthreats, long-term high gas prices, continuing supply chain issues, ongoing hiring problems, and growing disinformation are all going to have an impact on our industry long term. We’ll keep a very close eye on any new developments and changes, and will ensure we help our clients avoid any issues as much as possible.

Are You a candidate for BNG?

10/7/2021

What is BNG?
Broadband Network Gateway (BNG) allows for a centralized access point for subscribers to which they connect to the internet. BNG establishes and manages subscriber sessions in this centralized access point for easy management and scalability. When a session is active, BNG aggregates the traffic from various subscriber points on an access network and routes it to the network of the service provider.

We’re seeing ISPs of all sizes go to this type of model to help ease the challenges of managing a customer base and all the network equipment that goes into it.

One of the main goals with BNG is to move all customer-facing logical interfaces to one or two points on the network. In most designs, QinQ (IEEE 802.1Q) is used to bring the customer's data back to the BNG router (but there are other options). For example, on a per chassis basis you would assign a VLAN per subscriber with an outer tag assigned to that chassis. The customer speeds and other settings are all managed in one or two centralized RADIUS servers, making a single place to make a customer change.

How can BNG help avoid an IPv4 address acquisition?
One of the biggest issues challenging all ISPs right now is the IPv4 exhaustion problem. Unlike traditional ISP services where it is necessary to split up customer's subnets, with BNG, all customers can be put on a single broadcast domain and a single DHCP pool because BNG does not allow customers to broadcast outside of their own virtual interface. This prevents wasting IP addresses by not having to split them up and having a dangerously large broadcast domain.

The other way to alleviate the IPv4 exhaustion is to dual-stack IPv6 and CGNAT IPv4. Because everything in BNG is centralized, it makes it very easy to apply IPv6 to a single customer or all customers without having to redesign the entire network to get IPv6 to the edge. CGNAT can then also be applied with an appliance sitting between the outgoing interface of the BNG and the internet creating a "catch-all" for customers that need NAT added to their connection. The dual-stack option allows approximately 80% of the traffic destined for the internet to use IPv6 and the other 20% needing to be NAT'd. Many of our 7Sigma customers with this design have been able to lower the hardware and licensing requirements on their CGNAT box, saving money in that area and keeping the majority of traffic off of NAT giving customers a better user experience.

How does BNG work?
One of the ways this works is by “dumbing down” the access gear to make each chassis more like a fiber switch (or DSL switch), which allows the ability to have a single template to use over and over on the network for each chassis. In the event of a failure or bringing up a new site, there is really only the name, IP and outer VLAN that need to be changed to get things online. Chassis’ can be pre-configured, freeing up higher-end resources from having to spend so much time configuring and installing.

All the customer speeds would be located as a policer and shaper on the BNG router. The RADIUS server then holds the package that each customer is on that corresponds to the policer and shaper on the router. To do a mass upgrade of customers (ie. upgrade all customers on 10Mb to 20Mb), only an update to the speeds associated with the BNG router is required along with a one-line mass database update in RADIUS. The process is the same to upgrade 10 customers or 1,000 customers, which means it only takes a few minutes to upgrade thousands of customers.

These examples demonstrate the scalability of the network. Deploying BNG can greatly improve all the difficulties that come with scaling on your network. It also allows a smaller staff the ability to manage a much larger network, without needing to add staff for every nth customer added as a subscriber.

Is BNG right for you?
If you’re struggling to scale, or managing a network with a reduced staff, BNG may be a good approach. Want to talk through your options? Give us a call or send us an email any time.

Urgent: Your Supply Chain Challenges Aren’t Over Yet

How to buy software

Potential impacts of the ukraine invasion

Are You a candidate for BNG?

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