Case Studies
True tales of customer success with Sentinel
The Zoo IT Team & Employees Roar in Approval of New Wireless Network
Environment
Current environment consisted of Cisco UCS Servers, Cisco Core & Edge Network Switches and a Cisco Unified Communications Telephony Platform. In addition the customer also had an aging Cisco indoor and outdoor wireless solution in place.
Challenge
The current wireless environment was at end of life and nearing end of support. Because the customer relied so heavily on the wireless network to support their over two million annual visitors, it was crucial to ensure that the guests would be properly supported by the wifi network. The customer was also concerned about the pace of change within wireless technology – they wanted to make sure they could take advantage of advancements in wireless technology to support the ever growing number of wireless devices used for business operations and for customer’s smart phones and wifi enabled technology. The customer also required a solution with a strong support offering as they did not have the resources on staff to service the wireless networks. Consequently due to budget constraints, they also needed a cost effective solution.
Solution
Sentinel surveyed the indoor and outdoor environments and provided wireless network designs and on-premise model as well as a cloud model. The customer selected the cloud model as it fit better with their budget since it required less capital outlay and was treated as an operating expense. In addition, Sentinel’s managed services operation and 24/7 NOC would have complete responsibility for supporting the network and ensuring availability. Sentinel specified that the access points and controllers for both the indoor and outdoor wireless network would be the latest technology available.
Results
The access points deployed provided a significant upgrade in data throughput over both the indoor and outdoor wireless networks. The zoo’s 700+ employees all enjoyed a significant increase to the speed and coverage of thru the new Sentinel CloudSelect wireless network. Guests also are now able to obtain faster response for any of their communication needs. Because the solution is fully-managed by Sentinel, the IT team is concentrating on projects such as enhancing the comfort and safety of the wildlife inhabitants and providing an outstanding experience for the guests.