Challenge
The company shifted their business model from traditional retail to an experiential environment, encouraging customers to stay longer, connect their devices to Wi-Fi, enjoy a cup of coffee, hold a business meeting or community event, and shop.
Creating a secure network for customers was vital, so after significant research and vetting, the retailer’s IT team decided on a Cisco Meraki MX firewall deployment at each of their 630+ locations.
Finding a trusted, qualified contractor to manage a national rollout, with the experience to configure, ship, and install the Meraki security equipment at each of their stores proved challenging. Also, the company wanted flexibility in the rollout schedule to account for the holiday season and potential changes in the retail environment at any given location.
Finally, the firewall systems needed to be actively managed and supported 24x7x365, to ensure separation of company and retail operations from customers while protecting both company and customer data.
Solution
CBTS presented a Network as a Service (NaaS) alternative based on the Cisco Meraki MX84 cloud managed security appliance, added specifically to the CBTS product line for our client because it had been vetted by their IT team. The NaaS solution would prevent a significant capital outlay upfront for equipment, and save on costs associated with warehousing and paying for system licenses before deployment.
Next, CBTS devised a NaaS rollout plan for Meraki firewall systems, and their experienced project management team coordinated ordering, configuration, and shipments to retail outlets, and scheduled engineers onsite for installation, testing, and launch.
While onsite, CBTS technical employees performed network discovery and collected information that allowed the team to ramp deployment quickly to 3 stores per day. After each store launched, CBTS NaaS engineers took over with centralized, proactive, 24x7x365 monitoring and management of the Meraki security environment.
In tandem with the rollout, CBTS Managed Services stepped in to manage existing networks, creating a roadmap to transition the client’s hardware and licensing to the NaaS environment over time.
Results
Our client saved millions in CapEx by switching from a traditional networking model to a CBTS NaaS solution, adding flexibility for the timing of bringing stores online within the Meraki security environment. The NaaS subscription ensures the retailer maintains predictable technology operating costs while reducing the expense of managing license renewals.
Additionally, by relying on CBTS certified Meraki experts for network discovery, configuration, and customizations, and a project management team experienced with large retail rollouts, the client saved time, with CBTS quickly ramping deployment to three stores per day. With CBTS Managed Services creating a roadmap for transitioning old networking equipment and licenses to NaaS, the retailer has a sustainable path forward for migrating disparate, location-based networks onto a unified, enterprise-class environment.
Finally, with over 700 CBTS engineers to monitor and manage network security and proactively address evolving threats, the retailer ensures a safe, secure Wi-Fi network for all its customers and employees across 630+ locations.