Lightning Fast Network Maintenance for Hotels

THE CLIENT

The client is a multi-national provider of network services for enterprises, new media providers, and telecoms carriers. They specialise in cloud-connectivity, managed SD-WAN, hybrid networks, and operate the world’s largest private submarine cable network. They contacted Neeco, their long-term partner, to help provide connectivity and long-term maintenance support for their end customer, a well-known international chain of full-service hotels and resorts. As of 2010, the hotel chain had over 530 branded hotels worldwide, in 78 countries, across six continents.

THE SOLUTION

Neeco’s Solutions Architects studied the elements that comprised the on-site connectivity and looked at how each of them could be supported in case of failure. Any potential problems with hardware could be solved by replacing the faulty hardware or getting an engineer to the site to investigate and resolve the issue. The one element that we had little control over was the reliability of the fixed-line connectivity from the existing internet service provider (ISP). We overcame this by installing backup 3G/4G routers with active data tariffs to keep sites connected during any fixed-line internet outages. The solution is compact and mobile, and strategically placed routers with active data connectivity could cover all 120 client sites. Since one router could cover several sites in its vicinity, the costs of adding the connectivity backup to the maintenance solution did not significantly affect the overall price, but added an invaluable layer of support for the end customer’s operations.

THE RESULT

The customised maintenance solution covered all of the end customer’s sites within the UK and Ireland with 4-hour SLAs. Neeco’s support not only covered the networking and IT equipment on site, but also secured backup connectivity. The solution worked so well that it was replicated in other countries, exceeding the expectations of the client, and earning Neeco yet another satisfied end