The VDN Network Services division maintains an environment of continuing education and training. This enables us to demonstrate the knowledge and secure the certifications necessary to be able to offer the best in solution offerings from leading manufacturers worldwide. A description of some of our most requested services are described in greater detail below.

Network Consultation
"A job once begun is half done". Sometimes knowing where to start and what you have to work with is the biggest challenge. VDN can be your valued partner when you need to define your environment and determine areas that can be eliminated, refined or enhanced. Our awareness of the technology industry and experience in delivering focused business solutions adds valuable insight into your decision process. Our ability to provide up-to-date information and develop a clear road-map allows you to make the most informed IT investment decisions.

Organizations are faced with a barrage of opinions as they try to determine the appropriate network solution to implement. A complete network solution must take into account your:

• Business application software
• Productivity enhancement software
• Existing cabling infrastructure
• Existing desktop resources
• Existing printing, imaging or fax resources
• Existing local and wide area network hardware
• Current and future bandwidth requirements
• Availability of capital
• Existing and future physical space requirements
• Current recurring expenses (i.e. licensing, carrier services, equipment leases, maintenance/service contracts)
• Existing obligations (i.e. equipment leases, carrier services contracts, maintenance/service contracts, building leases)
• Network Security Requirements
• Expectations of your users, partners or clients

Aligning these considerations with your current business factors and your short and long-term business objectives will enable you to make the best decision possible.

VDN Network Services will work with you and your staff to conduct a detailed network assessment. Our services are tailored to the unique business needs and computing environment of your organization. VDN's approach is to first focus on your business goals and objectives, including your unique organizational culture, and develop our recommendations from that starting point. Included in our services are any regulatory or industry requirements that influence your business decisions, available funds and industry best practices in the area of networking and inter-networking.

Network Design
VDN Network Services provides network design services to any business, large or small. Our experience and strong relationships with a wide array of manufacturers/solution providers enable us to scale our design based on the size of your business and the size of your network. We listen to your requirements and develop solutions that satisfy your most important criteria, whether its budget, expandability, scalability, guarding against obsolescence, or "must-have" features. We realize most organizations already have implemented a network. Technology resources are increasingly used to enhance productivity, reduce overhead or offer better service for customers. Many organizations now realize that an assessment of their current infrastructure is needed to ensure availability and integrity of these critical resources. We will assist you and your staff in defining your needs and developing effective design solutions that align with your business objectives.

Network Cost Savings Analysis
Information technology can greatly benefit your business. Too often decisions to implement a technology solution are implemented without a firm idea as to what the payback will be on the investment. Many decisions are made in haste due to time, opportunity or workload constraints. Once solutions are in place they tend to integrate into your business processes until one day you start to wonder why you continue to pay the costs associated with keeping the network up to date and effective.

VDN Network Services, using our time tested approach and solution knowledge, will analyze your current environment including business applications, local network and computing resources plus any WAN connections. We will provide you with feedback regarding areas we identify as exceeding the expected cost for the delivered value. We will provide options that demonstrate cost reductions within a specific timeframe that you can act upon immediately.

If we can't offer options that will reduce operating costs or provide additional capabilities at the same cost levels we won't waste your time or ours.

Network Optimization
Growing organizations face increased pressure to maintain performance and optimize utilization with their existing network. VDN Network Services can discover untapped efficiencies that will allow you to delay expensive upgrades. Simple reconfiguration of server, workstation, Ethernet switch or LAN/WAN routing equipment can sometimes pay big dividends by significantly reducing bandwidth utilization and/or processing resources. Let us find these opportunities before you invest resources in an upgrade that may not be needed.

VDN has extensive experience in analyzing networks and delivering optimization solutions that have provided performance increases of 50% to 400%! We utilize a sizable library of network analysis tools including LAN and WAN monitoring and performance analyzers plus historical trending applications to investigate and uncover network bottlenecks. We then use this information, along with our experience with operating systems, network protocols, and network capacity planning to identify and implement changes that can breathe life back into a network thought to be on its last legs.

Network Monitoring and Management
Intelligent decisions require timely and accurate information. Does your network have the bandwidth to support a new business application? Is productivity suffering because of sluggish response times and session failures? Are you spending money for additional WAN bandwidth or new hardware without knowing if you are solving the problem? Staying current with your network environment will reduce wasted time and money.

Whether you need someone to manage this chore or you want solution options that will enable you to effectively manage it within your business, VDN Network Services has the resources to help. We can actively monitor your network remotely on a daily basis, leaving you time for management, planning and development. Our services include help desk, troubleshooting, managing disparate vendors/service providers and historical reporting on network performance, outages and problem resolutions. We can also introduce you to tools and solution options that enable you more effectively manage your entire network. As with all of our services we always work with you to investigate and understand your business requirements and develop a solution that reflects your criteria including budget, expandability, scalability, or a specific "must-have" feature.

Project and Long-Term Contracting of Professional Services
VDN Network Services can provide you with a wide range of IT staffing solutions and expertise, from short-term placements to employment services and more. We are able to customize a solution for you based on your special needs including:

• Technical professional placements
• Block time contracts
• Temp-to-hire network technicians
• Vacation coverage
• Temporary & as-needed staff shortages

Our employees are not novices; they know how to get the most and best from the systems they install. They will quickly assess your requirements and offer creative, cost-and-time-effective, viable solutions regarding your IT and networking needs. Our staff of professional engineers and consultants have been carefully chosen from a wide range of specializations. We can provide you with basic desktop experience to someone with expert-level knowledge in Information Security, Wide Area Networking, etc. We can relieve you of the time and financial burden of finding, hiring and training a qualified employee.

Service and Maintenance Contracts
Access to information is critical to your ability to perform business and service your clients. Accordingly, the reliability of your network is just as critical. A failure of a server, LAN switch or WAN router might be a nuisance to one business and a catastrophe to another. We realize that there are different expectations for your network and IT resources depending on the type, size, clientele and location of your business. VDN offers service and maintenance contracts on all Voice and Data solutions we develop and work with you to customize response times and access to replacement components based on the way you do business. We base our business on continuing relationships and customer referrals. Our reputation reflects our customers' satisfaction. To ensure a high level of support we constantly monitor all of our service engagements and track metrics for expected time-to-respond, expected-time-to-resolution and customer satisfaction rate.

Our many years of experience, support expectations and strong manufacturer relations enable us to provide you with a service and maintenance package that ensures high network up-time and a better risk exposure for your business.