What Enterprises Can Learn from the NHL Draft

The Edmonton Oilers’s selection of Connor McDavid with the number one overall pick in the NHL Draft was just bound to happen. He’s the “chosen one,” as the hockey media world proclaims. But while he’s the obvious choice, could Jack Eichel be the better selection?

Eichel’s a generational talent too, but he just doesn’t get as much hype as McDavid. It reminds us of what we see in the fiber business every day – companies selecting the familiar and more widely-promoted local exchange carrier without even considering the other options. It’s possible the “road less traveled” may be one worth walking for organizations looking for bandwidth and/or planning a network. The key is to simply dig deeper and weigh the organization’s needs – and have access to the right scouting data.

It’s not like Connor McDavid isn’t a great talent. He’s quick and smart, and he fooled his opponents at the junior level over and over again. But should Edmonton really overlook how Jack Eichel performed against college-level athletes on his quest to win the Hobey Baker Award? His plays weren’t fancy, but they didn’t have to be.

Companies are well aware of the local exchange carrier’s promotions and features. It’s an easy choice, but that doesn’t make it the best one. Don’t let the LEC’s promotion and advertising budget distract you from making the best choice.

Decide Based on Needs, Not Name

McDavid and Eichel are both talented playmakers, but the similarities between McDavid and Eichel don’t stretch further than that. Connor McDavid played in the offense-first OHL – Eichel had to learn to play defense in college. He’ll likely be a great player without the puck, and that’s what wins championships (See: Chicago Blackhawks).

Edmonton has plenty of offense-first forwards. They need a different type of player, but their organizational needs aren’t being considered first and foremost. And it works the same way if you choose a fiber provider by the name or network size. You may be overlooking key factors like diversity, latency and required construction. Data to help with better decision-making is available in fiber maps, and businesses that start with predetermined business goals are poised to make the best decision.

In the Fiber Network Draft, Your Company Selects…

The obvious choice isn’t necessarily the best one. But organizations like Edmonton have gray-haired scouting teams to review the available options (though they did just fire around half their staff). What’s your business using to evaluate the available fiber providers?

We may be biased, but we think FiberLocator is the information resource you need. We have over 390,000 carrier “lit” address records and 300 unique fiber data layers. Even if you don’t consult the data in FiberLocator, remember to research all your options before making a fiber network selection.

“Using the FiberLocator application has now become an integral part of our network design process and has been a key resource we use to quickly identify existing metro dark fiber. Beyond the point of identification, their fiber brokerage services team…

Vince Aragona, Engineering & Network Implementation
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