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What To Look For In An ISP

Q: What are some of the features an agent should be lookingfor when choosing an Internet Service Provider (ISP)?

A: These days, there are lots of ISP options ofproviders and configurations. Selecting an ISP can be a complex andexpensive choice, much like buying new computers or a car. Thechoice requires planning and research to make the right decision.It is important to note that you can split Internet connectivityfrom e-mail and Web site hosting. You do not necessarily have to gowith the same provider, although many do. Cost is going to be aconsideration, but there is going to be more involved than justlooking at the dollar figure.

In general you want at the very least:

o An Internet connection that is always on.

o An e-mail address for each employee that uses your domainname. You do not want to have a Jsmith123@aol orBobLikesBikes82@hotmail e-mail address. Such names mightnot give your customers the confidence they need to continue to dobusiness with you.

o A Web site for your agency that can be updated as needed.

You also need to answer a few other questions and be aware of afew points before making a final determination as to who will beyour provider.

Who owns my domain name?

If the ISP or hosting provider is handling the Web and e-mailhosting, be sure that the domain name(www.SmithInsurance.com) is registered in your name andnot that of the ISP. Some unscrupulous providers will registerthings in their name as a way to stop you from ever moving awayfrom their services.

How many e-mail addresses can Ihave?

Sometimes you will find that if youre agency needs more than 10e-mail addresses, you will pay an extra monthly fee. A differentprovider could be a more cost-effective match for you.

Will the ISP or hosting provider scan my e-mail forviruses?

With the onslaught of e-mail worms and viruses floating around,the peace of mind that your ISP will at least do some sort ofscanning is an important consideration. You should always haveadditional protection on the desktop, but an ISP scanning can catchmany viruses before they get to you.

Is there a size limit on individuale-mails?

Sometimes you may need to receive a large e-mail attachment froma customer or carrier. Maybe someone is sending you pictures for aclaim. Its important that you try to maximize your inbound e-mailsize.

Do I need access from the outside?

Computers use Internet Protocol addresses (which is the uniqueidentifier for individuals over the Internet) to locate and talk toeach other on the Internet, much the same way people use phonenumbers to locate and talk to one another on the telephone. Do youneed to be able to access your network from the Internet? Are youusing Citrix or Terminal Services (technology to link-up to yourhome office system) or remote desktop? If you do, then you willneed to ensure you have a static IP and a firewall that is able tomanage the connections.

Who will manage thefirewall?

Generally, you will always needsome sort of firewall between you and the Internet. This will helpensure that you can access items on the Internet, but yourworkstations and servers remain safe and secure. A properly managedfirewall will help shield you from the outside world while stillallowing seamless access to the Internet by your employees.

Who will own the equipment?

If the equipment is provided by the ISP, will you receiveownership of the equipment? Often there are installation feesassociated with a new Internet connection which partially go tocover new equipment. One will sometimes assume that means you nowown the equipment, only to find that the ISP owns it. This normallyis not a big issue until it comes time to leave the provider andthen youre hit again with an equipment charge to link up with thenew provider.

What are the contractconsiderations?

Commonly, a principaldoes not want to sign a contract for more than one year because ofthe rapid changes and advances that can occur from year to year.You want to ensure that there is a service level agreement (SLA)built into the contract. This will enable you to break the contractin the event that they do not meet up to their service promise.

Other items to note:

If you are using a wireless system in your office, make sure thatyou are using WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) security. Check withyour equipment provider to ensure that your system does not includea wireless router that you are not aware of. If it does, make surethat WEP security is being used so no one from the outside canaccess your bandwidth or network.

Make sure that you always have a backup of your Web site.Sometimes you may contract the design work to an outside firm tohelp give your site a professional look and feel. Be sure that youhave a backup of the site along with any template originals so youcan work with a different company at a later time if you sodesire.

Once you have considered all the points above, the decisionshould then boil down to one of dollars and sense.

This answer was supplied by Doug Johnston, executive vicepresident for Applied Systems (www.appliedsystems.com) inUniversity Park, Ill.

Got an agency tech question? E-mail Ara Trembly ([email protected]) orMark E. Ruquet ([email protected]).

Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, April 9, 2004.Copyright 2004 by The National Underwriter Company in the serialpublication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as anindependent work may be held by the author.