Not too long ago, we put out a paper on the benefits of using Mist to Managed Service Providers. It covers how Mist partners can use our groundbreaking platform to deliver wireless as a service, with unprecedented insight into mobile user behavior and automation of day-to-day tasks for faster problem resolution and lower operational costs.
It recently occurred to me, however, that there is an equally compelling corollary to the above. While Mist gives MSPs the insight needed to set, monitor and enforce Service Level Expectations (SLEs) for their customers (i.e. companies, hospitals, stores, etc), that same insight can be used by those customers to hold the MSP responsible for the service being purchased. In other words, it is the perfect foundation for creating measurable Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for wireless networking.
For example, with a quick glance a customer can easily determine what percentage of their wireless users are connecting in under 2 seconds, or how many of those users are getting more than 10 Mbps throughput via the WLAN (see picture below). This data can then be summarized and easily compared to monthly or annual commitments from the MSP to ensure that the service being purchased is actually the service being delivered.
By enabling wireless networks to be offered like a SaaS offering, Mist brings unprecedented agility, performance, scale and cost savings to MSPs. But it also, and perhaps most importantly, brings something else to the table – accountability!
Customers don’t care about statistics pertaining to AP uptime or packets pushed. They care about the level of service they are getting. UP is not the same as GOOD. For the first time, Mist finally lets you distinguish between the two.