CISCO SYSTEMS/ Cisco and Solect Technology Group
provide usage based billing solution
August 21, 1998
M2 PRESSWIRE via NewsEdge Corporation : Solect's
IAF and Cisco's NetFlow software deliver new level of
billing flexibility
Solect Technology Group, the leading provider of
infrastructure software solutions for service providers
(SPs), and Cisco Systems, Inc., the worldwide leader in
networking for the Internet, announced today an
advanced usage-based billing system that integrates
Cisco's NetFlow software into Solect's Internet
Administration Framework (IAF) product. This integrated
solution is being used by leading providers of
high-speed, broadband networks and services for
commercial and business users.
"Cisco and Solect's product integration provides service
providers with the unique ability to create flexible
usage-based billing structures," said Tom Downey,
director of product marketing for Cisco's Routed WAN
Business Unit. "NetFlow's mechanism for collecting
detailed information is an essential component for
enabling service providers to profitably offer premium
services."
Cisco's innovative NetFlow technology enables its router
and switch platforms to provide detailed, flow-based
accounting data required to enable usage-based billing.
Solect's IAF, a comprehensive, customer care, billing and
service management solution for service providers,
processes the NetFlow data, enabling service providers
to cost-effectively differentiate their services. In addition,
IAF incorporates the Solect Rating Engine, jointly
developed with Bellcore, for rating IP services. The
Solect Rating Engine leverages the NetFlow usage data
collection with the ability to implement creative,
multi-tiered pricing plans.
In the world of the Internet, usage-based billing extends
beyond the concept of purely measuring and rating units
such as seconds or bytes, to include more advanced
information such as bandwidth, time of day, quality of
service, level of service, application and source and
destination information. NetFlow and IAF were designed
with this flexibility in mind. IAF links combinations of
services to create innovative pricing plans and provide
new revenue opportunities.
"Service providers need infrastructure to support
usage-based billing. This allows them to offer a broader
range of services and to charge for these services
according to market conditions," said Dan Taylor,
managing director of telecommunications at Aberdeen
Group. "IP networks are enabling a broader range of
services, which stresses service providers' billing
systems. Usage-based billing solutions, like Solect and
Cisco's, are critical to market success."
Cisco's NetFlow technology provides network
administrators with "call record" information for their
data networks. It also enables key value-added
applications including network management and
planning, traffic analysis, enterprise accounting and
departmental, usage-based billing and data
warehousing/mining for marketing purposes.
"Our customers are demanding greater flexibility from
their billing systems as they observe that usage patterns
for networked services cannot be profitably billed
through traditional flat rate or timed connection methods,
" said Paul Atkinson, CEO of Solect. "The combined
technologies of IAF and Cisco provide a first class,
usage-based billing solution. IAF and NetFlow are world
class products brought together by experienced
engineers to create and deploy this successful
commercial application."
Pricing and Availability
IAF/NetFlow is available immediately. For more
information and pricing of solutions, please contact
Solect via email at info@solect.com.
About Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide
leader in networking for the Internet. News and
information are available at cisco.com.
About Solect
Solect's mission is to help redefine the way service
providers manage their Internet business. Headquartered
in Toronto, Canada, Solect is the leading provider of
infrastructure software solutions, with over 50 service
provider installations globally. Since its inception in
1993, Solect has developed industry-leading expertise
and provides an integrated business solution for
customer care, service management and billing. Solect
has developed strategic partnerships with leading
technology companies, such as Sun Microsystems,
Cisco Systems, Netscape, Bellcore, Oracle, and Nokia,
which has ensured Solect's products and expertise are
continually refined to incorporate all the latest
technology to meet the requirements of the rapidly
changing world of the Internet. Home page:
solect.com |
