Caching for ISPs

Caching for ISPs
Return on investment
Replacing an existing cache
Caching case studies
The CACHEBOX range

Introduction
Everyone complains internet access is expensive, but as an ISP you know Internet service provision is also expensive.  With the increasing number of web based services and applications pushing up demand, you’re forced to add more subscriptions, increasing the contention on the lines and impacting customer satisfaction.

There is a prevailing belief amongst many ISPs that with the cost of bandwidth falling, adding more capacity is the most effective approach to increasing performance.  However, as traffic increases to use up available bandwidth sooner or later you’re forced to increase subscriptions all over again.  In remote parts of the world where infrastructure is limited or provision is via expensive satellite links the problems are compounded even further.

CACHEBOX helps you avoid spending large amounts of money on upgrading core equipment and transit links to cope with ever-demanding content growth.  It is a powerful yet affordable solution designed to help you control bandwidth costs and improve your customer satisfaction.

The cost savings derived from more effective bandwidth use also mean you have access to new business opportunities:

• Increase market penetration and share by lowering prices. A small decrease in price to end users can result in big increases in your customer base
• Increasing the number of customers on your network has limited impact on the quality of service to existing customers
• Increase the margins on packages as the costs of the underlying services decrease.
• Create new services running on existing infrastructure

ApplianSys’s experience with ISP customers in Africa and the Middle East has shown that by introducing higher performance CACHEBOXes into the core and supplying affordable web caches to customers, your network capacity can be increased by over 50% and Internet performance for web browsing can go up by over 150%.  The improved utilisation of bandwidth and better internet experience means your service is more attractive and leads to higher sales.  In addition you have access to a new revenue stream in the form of the CACHEBOX sales to your customer base.

Return on investment
Investment in CACHEBOX offers a compelling return on your investment, based on the potential for.

Direct cost savings

• Reduced initial set-up time
• Reduced ongoing administration time

Bandwidth savings
Calculating bandwidth savings is relatively simple.  Multiply the cost of a monthly internet connection with the byte hit rate expected at peak load. In a medium sized ISP providing Internet access to corporate clients this can average around 30%.

In areas with limited internet connectivity or access via satellites, such as Africa or the Middle East costs can be much higher.

Based on the above cost savings, the typical payback on a CACHEBOX appliance can be as little as 5-6 months.

However, there are many intangible benefits which can’t be measured as easily but can be just as important.  With objects cached locally, content download speeds are drastically increased, resulting in enhanced customer service satisfaction.

Losing customers through poor service and rising infrastructure costs are a burden few businesses can bear.  Fortunately with CACHEBOX, you can manage both without breaking the bank.

Replacing an existing cache

In the mid-90s many ISPs and large data-intensive organizations bought high end devices from cache vendors to help them manage bandwidth.  However, a number of those vendors have since gone out of business, shifted their focus to offer complex security solutions or sold the caching element of their business.  This has left many ISPs few options for replacing a vital element of their network.

CACHEBOX, with its feature-rich web caching, offers you a sensible replacement solution that delivers comparable performance but at a price that it easy to justify.