A reliable network is critical to the success of any multi-site retail business. That’s why a leading farm and ranch retailer recently migrated from a frame relay network to a DSL and cable broadband VPN solution to boost throughput speeds to stores and save on operating costs. But in order to improve overall network availability, the retailer—whose more than 900 rural stores across the U.S. offer customers a myriad of products for their farms, ranches, homes, and animals—faced the challenge of how to guard against network downtime without sacrificing performance.

That’s when Hughes Access Continuity stepped in. The fully managed Hughes solution is a high-performance, broadband networking service that acts as an insurance policy against costly downtime caused by connectivity outages. Implemented as an overlay to the retailer’s existing landline network, Hughes Access Continuity provides a true alternate path backup solution, with robust broadband satellite or 3G wireless coverage at all retailer sites.

Hughes Access Continuity Keeps Operations Running Smoothly

The beauty of Hughes Access Continuity is that it performs consistently across the country, ensuring uniform connectivity and availability at every store location. Whenever and wherever the primary landline connection may fail, the Hughes solution seamlessly kicks in, keeping the retailer’s stores online and fully connected. In many such cases store personnel are not even aware there has been a disruption. When one does occur, the Hughes operations team immediately addresses the outage, with service automatically migrating back to the primary landline connection upon repair.

Redundant, Secure, and Fully Managed

Following a comprehensive network design phase, Hughes pilot engineers worked closely with the retailer to conduct a multi-site production pilot. During this final phase before rolling out the Hughes solution to all its stores, the company’s quality assurance (QA) team put it through formal, quantitative testing to ensure that all critical business applications performed as specified in backup operation.

Now in full production backing up the retailer’s high speed landline VPN network, the Hughes Access Continuity solution has more than ample throughput to handle the company’s complete suite of point-of-sale (POS) and transactional systems. Fully managed from a single trusted provider, Hughes Access Continuity frees the retailer from the added complexity and risk of using a mix of different vendors and technologies.

Worry-free New Store Provisioning

The retailer also needed a way to provide network connectivity for new stores while waiting for DSL or cable Internet to be provisioned. With Hughes Access Continuity, on-site installation of the compact satellite dish and router is quick and easy, enabling the retailer to get everything up and running quickly—literally in days. Satellite provisioning allows the company to launch new store grand openings without the worry about possible landline installation delays when facing tight launch windows.

Multicast Feature Updates Existing Systems Quickly

As an added bonus, Hughes Access Continuity also provides the company with the option to update its POS systems, price lists, and other corporate data via satellite multicast. At the push of a button, all stores are updated simultaneously—providing a considerable efficiency improvement over updating files individually at each store.

Online all the Time

Now, backed by its Hughes Access Continuity solution, the farm and ranch retailer is enjoying the security and peace of mind that comes from knowing that its stores are seamlessly kept online—no matter if landline failures occur. And the flexible Hughes Access Continuity solution will readily expand in future to additional sites and different networking configurations as the business grows.

The Power of Hughes Access Continuity

Hughes Access Continuity is a fully managed service implemented as a true alternate path overlay to  primary landline connections, protecting businesses from costly network  outages.