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Upgrades are flexible
Ware says network optimization has given Cellular South the ability to be more flexible with its upgrades. For instance, Ware says he has been able to swap out frame relay network hardware in larger, high-volume stores in favor of an Ethernet solution, while smaller stores and kiosk locations continue to benefit from data compression, caching and other optimization solutions.

Web optimization presents organizations with a total cost of ownership solution, says Keith Vozel, Stampede’s director of marketing. As organizations perform upgrades, they can still use the solution to save even greater bandwidth. “If you do upgrade at some point in time, then we’ll still delay the next upgrade,” he says.

Network managers have the option to deploy hardware at both the data center and store levels to create greater efficiencies, Vozel says, but the software option is attractive in the replicated branch environment because it can reduce a typical $2,000 hardware purchase to as little as $35.

Stampede is configuring its web-optimization solution for retailers that are deploying mobile devices (such as Treos and BlackBerrys) to their stores and remote locations. “You can imagine the amount of bandwidth dollars it is going to cost to deploy” these devices, Courtney says. “If we can save them 70 percent of that bandwidth, all of a sudden the economics of being able to deploy devices like these changes.”

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