DesignA Electronics and Logictel team up
11 October 2012
DesignA Electronics Ltd New
Zealand and Logictel S.A. Brazil team up to enhance
incumbent Sao Paulo Telecoms customer
services
Enhancing
the service
Telecom
operators around the world face the challenge of not only
operating and maintaining legacy telephone exchanges but
also providing additional services to customers. DesignA
Electronics Ltd offers a smart and dependable technology to
assist telecom operators in this task. This was the case in
Sao Paulo, Brazil were DesignA Electronics worked closely
with their distribution partner Logictel S. A. to provide a
leading solution to the incumbent telecom operator allowing
them to boost customer service and introduce additional
products over their network.
Magnetic tape units (MTU),
introduced in the 1980-90’s for data storage, are fast
becoming obsolete; MTU’s are bulky mechanical devices
that, like all mechanical products, wear out over time and
fail. MTU’s are used to record billing information and
when there is a discrepancy or error in the data recovery:
they are used to back-up the exchange and provide disaster
recovery. When MTU’s fail they must be taken to a
laboratory for the exchange of parts, adjustment, and
diagnostics. Magnetic tapes are also predisposed to
degradation over time and use.
Many telecommunications
providers around the world have great difficulty in finding
a substitute for MTU’s that are capable of providing safe
and reliable data storage for data backup of digital and
analogue data. The situation is even more complicated when
confronted with legacy equipment. The diversity of telephone
switches brought about the need for a data storage system
that would be compatible with them all.
The
solution: replace MTU’s with DesignA Electronics Ltd, New
Zealand, DDS-XM MTE Units
Designed for rapid and
easy installation, the compact DDS-XM is a modern, solid
state storage device designed to substitute magnetic tape
storage, utilised in systems connected to telephone
exchanges from the likes of NEC, Siemens, Alcatel –
Lucent, Ericsson, Fujitsu and Tropico.
The DDS (Digital Data Storage) units are compact, easy to transport and store, and crucially can be installed without interrupting service. Beyond that, the DDS uses latest generation digital flash media that is infinitely more reliable than magnetic tapes and drives that require moving parts for the accessing and storage of
data. The DDS products from DesignA have been successfully installed within telecommunications networks in many parts of the world since 2006.
Colin Hogg, General Manager at DesignA Electronics explains: “Due to the nature of the DDS, there are no mechanical components, having been designed for ease of “plug and play”, substituting traditional storage systems, whether tape or cartridge, and with minimal configuration required.”
After many weeks of tests that simulated all the functionality in testing centres of the Brazilian telecommunications giant, the DDS proved itself to be extremely reliable. After even more extensive tests, Logictel, in November of 2009, provided 103 units DDS-XM MTE units to the operator in question.
Logictel’s Director of operations, Geraldo Guimarães says, “We do not know any other manufacturer that possesses a single product with all the functionality of the DDS-XM MTE units. We recommend this technology for all telecommunications operators that are facing a similar situation with old magnetic tape devices.”
Colin adds, “ Since 2006, our DDS products have helped telecommunications operators prolong and extend the service life of their telephone exchanges, which is a remarkable achievement. “The alternatives – creation of personalised storage solutions or a complete replacement of the telephone exchanges, costs millions, is not always economically viable.”
Additional
Benefits
With MTU’s,
operators had to physically remove tapes from the exchanges
every month, and take them to a data centre for data
transfer, generating substantial extra costs and delays,
including the associated care and additional costs incurred
with data storage on tape.
Uniquely, DesignA Electronics’ DDS can either send data directly to a centralised data storage facility via the operators Ethernet network using the DesignA’s Network Management Software (NMS). Or alternatively, it can be downloaded to SD cards or USB storage devices then transferred to a laptop or easily transported to the data centre for processing. DDS units are also capable of automating the scheduled transfer of data. This allows for optimum efficiency when it comes to correlating the reference data and the detailed data of the exchange.
World Class support by Logictel in
Brazil
With dedicated
development and total support from DesignA in New Zealand,
Logictel has successfully
introduced and installed
DDS’s in the Brazilian market and offers world-class
maintenance and support.
Colin says: “Although the DDS
is practically “plug and play”, there are regional
characteristics and different software utilised in telephone
exchanges. For this reason, Logictel and DesignA put to work
a team of engineers and technical specialists to guarantee
the success of the installation and formation throughout the
implementation period.
This exceptional collaboration
between DesignA and Logictel and their market expertise in
Brazil empowers Logictel to install and support Design A’s
DDS product throughout Brazil, inclusive of training,
support and maintenance, with any Brazilian operator, in any
location.
- ends -
About DesignA
Electronics
DesignA Electronics Ltd.
Christchurch, New Zealand delivers a series of amazing
high-tech products based around the ARM chipset, to the
Aerospace, Telecommunications industries, building on its
rapid prototyping single board level computer “Snapper”.
The DesignA-team of engineers supply innovative and reliable
component expertise & design know-how for leading edge
electronic products. www.designa-electronics.com