S.M.A.R.T. System

PenTeleData’s S.M.A.R.T. system is a technical solution designed to merge both worlds of the Internet service relationship. PenTeleData’s S.M.A.R.T. system performs critical tracking, monitoring and status report functions integral to the healty operation of PenTeleData’s premiere, multi-state data network. S.M.A.R.T. delivers more information and better response to customers - vital components of PenTeleData’s legendary reputability.

What is S.M.A.R.T.?
The term defines PenTeleData’s ground breaking System Manager Awareness Response Technology tool. S.M.A.R.T. is an advanced electronic technology utility developed exclusively by PenTeleData for employees and customers who use it daily for free to maintain unparalleled insight into and guarantee the reliability of PenTeleData’s premiere data and Internet network.

A living architecture, S.M.A.R.T. lists tickets in varying states of progress. A ticket is a record with a unique numbered identifier specific to PenTeleData’s system, a ticket indicates a project or an issue, what conclusions have been reached, a list of things that need to be done or a conversation concerning a certain topic or changes to the ticket system. The S.M.A.R.T. ticket system is PenTeleData’s tool for opening and closing records of indicating that affect the function of the consumer operations of the company in nearly every way. Representing only one part of S.M.A.R.T., a ticket is a workflow item, passed from within PenTeleData, form service to customer support.

How S.M.A.R.T. works.
The S.M.A.R.T. system communicates with the user. The ticket system has an “E-mail Notify” field that indicates when changed are made to a ticket, checks to see if that e-mail address has permission, and e-mails that person a copy of the ticket. It does this by checking the e-mail address against the S.M.A.R.T. users’ database to determine access level and department and compares that to what a user of that security clearance can see.

In S.M.A.R.T., a customer starts a lead. The customer orders a line, then the line is installed and the customer’s S.M.A.R.T. profile starts filling up with technical information. All representatives that come in contact with the customer, the information about the lead, all conversations and then all utilization and history information about that customer are tied together in one easy place: one interface, one system.

Originally, the S.M.A.R.T. ticket system started out separately, and then gradually became part of PenTeleData’s network monitoring tool. This integration underscored the interoperability of this network monitoring software package: S.M.A.R.T. checks to see if nodes are available for service or not and acts as an early warning detection system for PenTeleData’s network. Network monitoring engineers can’t make certain technical adjustments to the network with out appropriate ticket reporting. PenTeleData links tickets to a node on the network so when node flashes a warning, it lists the ticket number most recently associated with that node. Therefore, anyone can go back and check to see if the problem comes from being under certain stress, or high usage. Whatever the case, the problems that we detect give a PenTeleData technician a foundation upon which further research is added. Soonm the S.M.A.R.T. system will encompass PenTeleData’s accounting functions.

S.M.A.R.T.’s Netmon (Network Monitoring) system displays problems on a security-protected webpage for technical staff. Based on PenTeleData’s OnCall Schedule, if an issue is not resolved, staff is paged. Then, managers are paged to escalate the alert. Also, S.M.A.R.T.’s Graphmon system presents graphical data displayed on a web page for both PenTeleData staff and its customers. The S.M.A.R.T system monitors various network functions as line utilization, ticket tracking, outage notification, dynamic service allocation and statistics reporting. S.M.A.R.T., however, isn’t just for problems. S.M.A.R.T. may be employed for contacts, workflow, line turn-ups and projects large and small by the Engineering, Marketing and Sales departments. Webbased and easily accessible to all PenTeleData customers with a computer and a web browser, S.M.A.R.T. also provides links to popular network monitoring and troubleshooting resources. PenTeleData engineers have built unique front-end graphical interfaces that cater to the needs of each internal department.

While S.M.A.R.T.’s monitoring system maintains a watchful eye on the ‘working’ network, the monitoring software still needs a ticket with which to associate action and designated users receive unique S.M.A.R.T. access levels depending upon their position in the administration.

Employees maintain a permanent record that acknowledges every change in status with a ticket number. Thanks to S.M.A.R.T., customers are immediately notified of service alerts, and customers can reference the S.M.A.R.T. system and reference what’s going on. Like any advanced reporting system, S.M.A.R.T. provides staff with unprecedented access, allows staff members to build a database, a knowledgebase of problems and how to fix them when a customer encounters an issue. This approach encourages engineers to resolve underlying issues instead of applying superficial patches to periodical anomalies - engineers analyze certain trends and resolve issues at a deeper level. Keeping customers informed - great customer communications - eliminates confusion and saves time.

Featuring specialized functionality, S.M.A.R.T. supplies different interfaces for different departments. PenTeleData engineers created separate front ends for each department’s use to differentiate information to track and log problems and increase the quality of the utility.

While all information may not be accessible to everyone, information is instantly disseminated to customers and throughout the company: an e-mail is sent with each ticket that has been opened. PenTeleData’s S.M.A.R.T. system acts as the main interface between customers and other departments throughout the entire company.

Because of its functionality, one of the most appealing characteristics of PenTeleData’s S.M.A.R.T. system is how simple it is to grow. A PenTeleData engineer can add a module to suit any innovative need deemed to benefit the customer. The core functionality of the S.M.A.R.T. system is not adversely affected by any added modules - all components interact without interruption. Recently, PenTeleData added innovative e-mail log updates as a component. Engineers incorporate new functions into S.M.A.R.T quickly and easily, since the newest additions don’t affect the functionality of other parts of the system. Increasing functionality in gradients by adding components, the S.M.A.R.T. system maintains its mission to encourage efficiency and increase quality of service and bolster customer care.

Instead of performing routine trouble tracking duties, S.M.A.R.T. facilitates productivity. A system that stimulates multiple teams and departments into making business flow better, S.M.A.R.T. manages new customer leads, communicates with the billing system, creates a central contact database, facilitates inter-departmental workflow all while associating and managing each person’s project. Time tracking, keeping events in order, recording every little detail, allowing personnel to create reports on a customer, problem jobs, projects, and workflow - as needed - allows management to create personnel and network utilization and valuable history information.