Network services

Network services build on top of Access Services and provide support for Hosting Services. Network Services include Internet addressing, electronic mail, host names, telephony and payment transaction services.

Internet addressing and host names are fundamental requirements for operating on the Internet. You must have Internet addresses and host names so that your potential customers can connect to your Web site and send email to your organisation.

Electronic mail provides the clearest business benefits for Network Services. Increasing numbers of organisations realise the value of connecting to suppliers, customers and potential customers through the Internet. Marketing, sales, customer service and support are areas where email can make a huge difference in immediacy and responsiveness. You can cut recruitment costs by posting available jobs and getting potential candidates to email careers@yourcompany.com.

Your organisation may want to maintain a large list of email addresses for regular marketing updates. The most cost-effective way is to use a mailing list server, which maintains a list of your customers. Send a single email from your company to greatoffers@yourcompany.com and your message is on its way to thousands of people who have already brought from you.

Payment transaction services provide a fundamental component in building an ecommerce Web site. When your online customer makes a payment with a credit card, the payment transaction service makes a secure connection to a clearing house and authorises the transaction, debiting the customer's account and crediting your business immediately.

Internet telephony is a new technology that uses the Internet for voice conversations. This can lead to significant cost reductions in your telephony bill, as your employees no longer dial out to make telephone calls and worldwide connections are the same price as local ones.

Perceval can use Internet technologies to provide remote monitoring of physical processes, such as checking on how full a fuel tank is or reporting the readout of a flow rate meter. Once you have a connection to the Internet, your organisation is able to implement many new cost-cutting techniques.