In the ever evolving digital world, it is no surprise to learn that 89% of enterprises are planning to adopt or have already adopted a digital business strategy. These include anything from updated collaboration and communication systems, to improved Wi-Fi connectivity, to entire network refreshes that support IoT, AI, and other efficiency producing technologies.
But, while it may be “simple” to deploy and install IT infrastructure for digital transformation within one location, driving rapid change and infrastructure installation across dispersed company sites can prove to be quite a challenge. That’s where a global multisite deployment comes in.
Global deployments help organizations maintain quality standards and facilitate higher proficiency with the latest technology at locations across the globe. Where many rollouts fail (75% to be exact) is planning for the requirements and necessities of all locations, employees, and operations worldwide.
A global multisite deployment, or a global rollout, is the complex process of implementing new technologies efficiently and successfully across all company locations (campuses, stores, offices, etc.) around the world. A rollout follows a strategic, streamlined, and tested process across the entire organization. A centrally managed global deployment eliminates the patchwork of vendors and contractors across multiple sites and accounts for the legislative differences between locations. With manufacturers, retailers, data centers, and commercial buildings all focused on working more securely and smarter, it’s important for IT rollouts to be planned, designed, implemented, managed, and supported in a way that’s time-effective, repeatable, and predictable.
The result — whether you’re implementing a wireless refresh, deploying new Point-of-Sale (POS) kiosks, or building a structured cabling system, the process is identical and adheres to the same high standards across all global locations.
In theory it should be easy to conduct a global rollout. Just a create a procedure and follow the same methodology at each location, right? The challenges of a global rollout reach far beyond surveying, deploying, configuring, testing, and maintenance. The deployment and upkeep of multiple company sites requires the right talent, with the right technology, involved in the right stage of the process, not to mention the common challenges rollout teams encounter every day, such as:
With the cost of IT technology varying from country to country, state to state, or even location to location within a state, fixed pricing and estimates can be a challenge. A global rollout needs to take into consideration market prices and pricing differentiators across dispersed locations while maintaining a budget and quality standards for IT infrastructure.
To provide an established, operational, and secure worksite, a global rollout plan needs to respect local labor laws, religious observances, languages, policies, and procedures to provide seamless deployment and labor across all global sites. This may mean that projects in different countries or regions cannot follow the same timeline or additional staff may be required to execute the rollout.
The success of a global rollout largely depends on implementing technology that meets the standards of each region. It’s critical when planning a rollout to take into account the availability of hardware, software, and platform in various countries while also being cognizant of the technological requirements of each location. The good news is... if you have the right strategy and partner, your rollout partner should procure the necessary technology through importing from global distributors.
An organized global multisite deployment is incomplete without a plan that considers the value added tax (VAT), Goods and Services Tax (GST), and withholding tax (WHT) at various locations. The knowledge of taxes is essential to provide an accurate estimation of deployment and servicing costs of global company sites.
Providing reliable project management that considers local labor laws, talent availability, various delivery dates, scheduling and report of delays, on-time completions, and all in-progress elements of the rollouts is a critical component of your global roll out plan. The difference between a successful rollout and a failed implementation is a good project management.
Once your IT is deployed, the job is not done. A commonly missed phase in global rollout planning is Day 2 Support. Day 2 support addresses the minute disturbances and kinks in the IT infrastructure occurring during testing. By planning your Day 2 support and providing time to test and make adjustments to the new system or network, you can optimize technology adoption across your organization and improve resiliency.
Global multisite deployments are anything but easy. That’s where it helps to partner with an experienced global integrator. The right partner not only provides boots on ground for fast deployment, proactive maintenance, and timely project completion but keeps up with industry standards and enables your company to meet your business goals in a cost-effective manner.
To learn more about global deployments and how to choose the right technology partner for your next roll-out download our “Global Multisite Deployments Guide: Technology Implementation Made Simple”.
If you are thinking about using a global rollout partner, talk to Black Box. We provide a global at heart but local in spirit service without compromising on quality and price. For more information, call us at 855-324-9909, or email us at contact@blackbox.com
The Case for Managed Multisite Deployments
hhttp://www.blackbox.com/en-us/bbns/resources/blog/details/bbns/2020/06/17/the-case-for-managed-multisite-deployments
Case Study: 4K Cameras Capture Thieves — Cutting Losses by $1B
https://www.blackbox.com/en-us/bbns/resources/bbox-case-studies/global-deployment/major-home-improvement-retailer
Top Five Challenges of Global IT Deployments
https://go.bboxservices.com/l/769553/2020-09-11/8rjmxk
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