How to Choose the Best Structured Cabling Solutions Provider
- 17 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Essential for any business or organization with an IT infrastructure or basic data connectivity needs, structured cabling systems many other benefits, too, from security to scalability and beyond. But getting those benefits requires expertise! Here’s how to get maximum impact from your investment by choosing the best structured cabling solutions provider for the job.
Need professional structured cabling solutions? Contact IES Communications today
Why Choose Professional-Grade Structured Cabling Solutions for Your Business or Organization?
A formalized system of setting up and managing the cabling, wiring, and other components that connect data streams, communications channels, video feeds, management systems, and other essential operational networks, structured cabling has become standard in IT and infrastructure management.
And that’s a good thing, since it also helps ensure the uptime of those functions, while making it easier to expand, integrate new tech, add new users, and minimize maintenance costs, among other benefits — all of which combine to make structured cabling systems well worth their initial costs.
But any system is only as good as the professionals who design and install it! And given the complexity and importance of these systems, that makes choosing a structured cabling provider one of the most important parts of the process. With that in mind, here are seven essential considerations to bear in mind before making your decision.
> Get Caught up with Structured Cabling:
We’re covering all the bases in our Ultimate Guide to Structured Cabling, from basic definitions and standard components to the installation process and the standards and regulations it’s based upon. Dive in for everything you need to know about structured cabling — and contact us here if you need to know more!
Choosing the Right Structured Cabling Solutions Provider: 7 Essential Considerations
1: Experience
Perhaps most obviously, the structured cabling solutions provider you choose should have a track record of success that stretches back far enough to ensure reliability.
A few months or even a few years may not cut it here. Truly assessing their likely performance on factors like system maintenance, scalability, or other long-term indicators requires years and maybe decades of experience under their belt.
How to choose: Ask about past work, number of years in service, and their most successful clients. Check out their website and LinkedIn page to see how long they’ve been around.
2: Expertise
Experience leads directly to expertise. After all, the more successful installations a company has carried out, the more they’ll know about adapting the universal standards of structured cabling to your specific and unique needs.
Training and breadth of knowledge also come into play here, as do numbers. A team of real experts can deliver an effective plan for situations that they may not all have direct experience with, acting as an expertise force multiplier.
How to choose: Gauge their knowledgeability about technology and installation best practices by asking about their process for system design and how they choose components. Use our guides to structured cabling components, standards, and installation to help inform your questions.
3: Certifications & Compliance
As with expertise, the structured cabling solutions provider you choose should do more than reassure you that they’re following regulations; they should also be able to detail what those standards are. And that includes not just TIA/EIA standards but others, too — for instance, those laid out by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and covered by NIST frameworks.
After all, regulatory compliance is necessary not just to avoid fines and help ensure safety, but also to make sure your investment is delivering the best possible performance, longevity, reliability, and return.
How to choose: Ask what certifications they have and what other regulations may apply to your job, using our guides to structured cabling components, standards, and installation to help inform your questions. You can also double-check any certification claims they make.
4: Future Viability
One of the biggest benefits of structured cabling is its scalability, which allows for the adoption of new tech and any other future expansion, planned or unplanned.
So, it’s important to make sure the structured cabling solutions provider you choose has the resources to deliver on this promise. Do they have the long-term viability to support your future needs? Can they accommodate your growth to new buildings, cities, or states?
How to choose: Look into ownership, service areas, and operational footprint. Companies that deliver localized services with a nationwide footprint are more likely to remain viable partners in the future, as are those affiliated with a larger conglomeration of firms or an established and reputable holding company.
5: A Comprehensive Range of Services
As important as expertise is, it’s also important to understand its limitations. If a provider is too narrowly focused on a certain aspect of cabling or infrastructure, they might not be able to meet your needs as you grow, adopt new tech, or adjust to changing market conditions.
That’s why installation providers should offer a full range of services — not just certified, expert level design, installation, maintenance, and support, but tangential services as well, like the management of mission-critical infrastructure or audio-visual (AV) systems.
How to choose: Check out their solutions portfolio, and follow up on the different aspects that may be of interest — for instance, data center or colo management.
6: Strong Customer Reviews & Word of Mouth
What do past clients have to say? What do current customers think? Even if they aren’t in the same industry as you are — but especially if they are — this is need-to-know info.
And remember, those reviews should praise not only the quality of their work, but other essentials like their customer service and their availability when needed, as well.
How to choose: Go beyond the case studies they may offer and check out their LinkedIn page, or anywhere else you can find real-time online interaction. Look at sources like Glassdoor to see what their employees say — how well staff is treated is usually a strong indicator of the quality of work you can expect.
7: Realistic Price Assessment & Cost Outlays
So, how much does a structured cabling installation cost? That depends on a number of factors that are unique to each job, so be wary of estimates that seem too good to be true — or that nail down a price before initial site assessment or a detailed consultation.
True professionals will be forthcoming about the need to assess the job before providing a full pricing outlay, and will provide that info after determining variables like:
Facility size and layout. How big and complex is the space? How many usable pathways are present?
Building accessibility and construction. Are there difficult-to-reach areas or extensive brick or concrete materials to work around?
Regulatory and legal needs. What building licenses are needed? Are there any usage restrictions like historical protection?
Type, quality, and quantity of cabling. Do you need a local Ethernet network, or connectivity for phone, Internet, or intercom? Will it include security?
Type, quality, and quantity of components. Is high-performance needed in every configuration? Can any of the components be purchased in bulk?
How to choose: Look for a balance of affordability and realism. An expert will let you know where your most important investments should be, and will provide options to meet your budget. Make sure the final quote comes after an on-site assessment and includes cable and component types and quantities, as well as performance guarantees and warranties.
How much does structured cabling installation cost? Contact us for a quote
The Best Structured Cabling Solutions, Customized to Meet Your Unique Operational Needs
When it comes to structured cabling, mistakes and shortcuts are not an option — you need a partner who's not only up to the job but committed to exceeding your expectations. And no matter what your unique operational needs may be, you can trust IES Communications to design and deliver a solution that meets them. Contact us today to start a conversation.