Certifications can go a long way toward making a company's presence known in the market; these tend to have a great effect of providing credibility to a company's efforts by letting potential customers know that some kind of central regulatory body has signed off on the company's prowess in a particular field. Recently, Arkansas' Ritter Communications landed its MEF (News - Alert) Carrier Ethernet 2.0 (CE 2.0) certification thanks to its own operations and a bit of help from Ciena.
With this certification in hand, Ritter has now confirmed it meets the best in industry standards for a Carrier Ethernet provider, including both VLAN-aware and port-based versions of the E-Access, E-LAN, and E-Line service types. Ritter can also offer the kind of wholesale services that a user might take an interest in, services that also meet the exacting standards of the industry. Since Ritter currently owns and controls three rural local exchange carriers (RLECs), a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) and a complete wholesale services network all located in portions of Arkansas and Tennessee, that certification should provide added peace of mind to those considering turning to Ritter in the region.
Ritter got to this point, in part, by drawing on Ciena's packet networking systems. The two companies have a substantial history together going back several years, as Ritter has previously been seen putting the 5160 and 5150 Service Aggregation Switches, as well as the 3900 line of service delivery switches, to use in everyday operations. That makes it easier for Ritter to deploy new network options, and offers a level of reliability that makes it possible to offer attractive service level agreements (SLAs).
Customers tend to like certifications, as it adds weight to a business' argument. It's one thing to say that a business is skilled in a certain area, but when other people are saying this about a business, it has more impact with those potential customers considering options. Testimonials from customers are a great example of this, that “we had this / ate there / drove this and loved it” phenomenon goes a long way. Testimonials from independent third parties are even better, in the form of awards and certifications. A customer is probably trustworthy, though could be influenced by freebies or other such inducements. A third party certification authority, meanwhile, operates according to its internal dictates, and when it certifies, it's for good reason. Its continued operation doesn't depend on reaching a quota, so its word can be more readily trusted.
Ritter's new certification will likely be a help in the field, one that will make all its other ventures look a little brighter as well. A little help from Ciena got Ritter a major new selling point, and one that should prove profitable all around.
Edited by Maurice Nagle