The art of the possible: how Ciena’s services help government agencies

Houses and networks have something in common—build them right the first time, and your long-term investment is better protected while your overall cost of ownership is lower. Building a proper network includes requirements gathering, analysis and planning, technical design, and deployment and implementation of network devices. Ciena’s Consulting, Implementation, and Systems Integration Services do all these and more to make sure your network is built right—the first time.

So, how do we do that? It is our job to listen, so we come in armed both with our experience and an open mind.

Although all government agencies have some unique requirements, different groups—such as the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, and civilian sectors—face many similar threats and have similar needs. Even so, when we start talking to a government agency about Ciena’s services, we start with a clean-sheet-of-paper discussion.

I like to think of Ciena’s services for government as the art of the possible. In any engagement, we aim to build trust—trust between our customers in the government sector and the people of Ciena. That is especially true in areas related to national security and defense.

We provide our government customers with a set of services that ensure the proper planning, design, and implementation of their networks. We divide those into three areas: Strategic Network Consulting, an Implementation Service, and a Systems Integration Service.

Strategic Network Consulting

Many of our team members have worked in government—in the military and civilian areas—so we have faced the same challenges and can provide unique insights from having walked the same road. We can look at the network and have an objective discussion about the facts, going through all the benefits and consequences of a wide variety of possibilities from a position of experience.

We know that government networks are mission-critical for the national security of the United States. So we use our deep experience in government, along with robust tools built for the task, to ensure the network is well-planned and that critical Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISAC’s) can reach their objectives.

Implementation Service

When it comes to implementation, you want experts who’ve done it before. Members of the Ciena engineering practice are just that. Because we team with you, your specific objectives drive our implementation. To that understanding, they add their inside-out knowledge of Ciena and Blue Planet products, what it takes to implement and manage a network, and knowing the underlying physics. That rare combination of skills means we can put people on the ground that know how to work a keyboard plus understand the ultimate goal a government entity is after.

This is a great asset because implementation is where things can go sideways. Ciena’s Implementation Service is an alternative to traditional turn-key deployment models you might find in the market. With our deep technical experience, know-how, resources, and global presence, we work with our customers in government to successfully deploy their networks without disrupting day-to-day business.

Systems Integration Service

Finally, rather than push you into a closed-end suite of proprietary products that require ever deeper investment into that line of products, Ciena has taken a different approach. We have an open API that makes interacting with other vendors not only possible—it makes it simpler. That goes a long way toward integrating our technology into a government entity’s framework. Our simplified architecture functions easily in a heterogeneous environment. No matter the architecture, our team will have the necessary experience to implement a wholistic and comprehensive solution.

What makes our Systems Integration Services different? Ciena is highly specialized with a focus on network evolution. Our Systems Integration Service for Virtualized Edge helps government agencies implement a software-defined infrastructure by leaning on our deep-bench of experts to rapidly spool-up virtual applications on a single platform. This replaces a multitude of dedicated single-purpose hardware devices, enabling new capabilities quicker and with less risk. And our Systems Integration Service for Solution Validation tests and confirms new hardware and software capabilities before implementation, using our expertise to reduce your risk and speed time to market.

The team we have assembled at Ciena knows what you are facing. Over long careers, we’ve built the kind of trust it takes to plan, implement, and integrate highly complex and mission-critical networks for a range of government agencies and entities.

You can learn more about Ciena Government Solutions here. I look forward to working with you.