Pool and Spa Care Retailer Upgrades Nationwide Network to Support Cloud-First Strategy and Business Goals
"With a true end-to-end Hughes solution, the customer now has a complete network service that is as dependable as water, electric and gas."
Customer
One of the largest pool and spa care retailers in the United States with more than 600 stores and a robust ecommerce site, serving residential, professional, and commercial customers.
Challenge
The retailer decided to adopt a cloud first strategy and migrate all of its onsite platforms and data center operations to the cloud. The enterprise wanted to expand its omnichannel strategy and loyalty programs to create a more personalized and engaging customer experience. Additionally, the company sought Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions to support initiatives, such as its water testing app used by employees and customers to test their pool water and chemical balance. Unfortunately, the company’s existing network infrastructure, which was 5 years old at the time, did not have the power or capabilities to support nationwide cloud-based operations and technologies.
Hughes Solution
The customer partnered with Hughes to refresh its network infrastructure. The new HughesON™ Managed Network solution features a multi transport design with high bandwidth IP circuits as primary and LTE secondary connections at every location, all tied together in a Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD WAN).
While the network upgrade was planned prior to the pandemic, much of the effort took place after lockdowns. The retailer also accelerated deployment to meet the increased demand for omnichannel experiences. Hughes service techs and installers were cleared as essential workers so they could travel; and site upgrades were consolidated to minimize impact to store operations and keep employees and customers safe. Each store was rewired to better locate IT equipment and provide flexibility for future capabilities.
The Hughes customer now has always on, always available connectivity at every location.
Hughes Technology Highlights
To enhance the HughesON Managed Network solution, the customer added Managed Security features, in-store Managed Wi-Fi and Managed VoIP service with interactive voice response (IVR) and automated call routing.
- In-store Wi-Fi is central to the rollout of mobile point-of-sale (POS) and handheld tools that will extend and support HughesON Digital Signage screens
- On the VoIP side, the customer is investigating whether to use a centralized call center to better serve customer inquiries
For more information about Managed Network Services from Hughes, click here.
