Client Result

How ROCK helped a client develop an agile network that enabled significant growth

A large organisation specialising in continuous professional development and operating a wide area network (WAN) across several sites contacted ROCK as their existing setup severely hindered their network’s adaptability. The setup in question was highly complex, with any changes typically requiring the involvement of their supplier and time-consuming on-site visits for their IT department. ROCK was tasked with reviewing their network and identifying alterations that would enable a more fluid setup.

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At a glance

Average time to implement network-wide changes down from six hours to 12 minutes
Members of IT teams accrued, on average, 12 additional hours of time per month

The situation

DevCo* had found the process of managing their WAN – required as a result of them operating from several offices throughout the UK – had become a tremendously cumbersome process. The company, who provide training and development courses to businesses throughout the UK, were expanding and needed to open further offices as well as add home-based employees’ residences to their networks. Both processes were continuously delayed due to a convoluted network setup that required on-site visits and vendor involvement in order to make changes.

ROCK was asked to review this setup and identify network alterations that would facilitate more malleable and responsive setups. Additionally, we were asked to consider if any further alterations that could be made would ease the administrative burden managing this complex network had on DevCo’s internal IT professionals.

Recommendations

Implement a software-defined WAN to simplify the process of managing/making changes to their network
Automate various tasks with regards to network management to allow IT professionals to focus on other tasks

Outcome

By implementing a software defined wide area network, DevCo were able to setup new working locations and add various locations to their network significantly faster, with changes typically taking minutes rather than hours.

Additionally, by automating a variety of tasks that were previously managed by network administrators – such as software updates, patches and root cause analysis – members of DevCo’s IT team reported that they had an additional 12 hours to perform alternative tasks each month.

*We value our clients and their right to a confidential consultation. While the name has been altered, the results are real.