Managed fibre-based WAN offers Jasco four times the speed of previous network

Stationery wholesaler Jasco has implemented a fully managed WAN featuring a fibre service with 100 Mbps port capacity. The service offers four times the bandwidth of the company’s previous network, with quality of service (QoS) for future integration of voice and IP EFTPOS services.

Jasco is a distributor and wholesaler of scholastic and commercial stationery in Australia, with sales offices in each state and warehouses located in Sydney, Adelaide and Perth. Sister company Eckersley’s is a retailer of high-end art and craft supplies with 25 stores across Australia.

The company had plans for its online presence and wanted to upgrade its existing ERP system, but the existing ADSL network was more than five years old and not fast enough to handle and support online transactions. In addition, the existing network was not scalable, hindering future growth plans for the company.

Andrew Hislop, IT Manager, Jasco, said the company’s existing network was creating a number of challenges.

“Prioritisation of critical applications like the ERP and POS systems were not possible on the network, and our security solution was unmanaged and spread over a number of devices, which was simply not suitable to service an online business. In addition, internet and backup links at the NZ sites were not integrated into the existing WAN.”

There was also increasing pressure from the business to gain more visibility of day-to-day usage trends and overall service performance, in order to plan ahead for future requirements.

Jasco employed a fully managed WAN from Azzurri. It features a fibre service with 100 Mbps port capacity for future growth into key sites with a managed Palo Alto Networks firewall.

“We now have a scalable network which is enabling IT to drive transformation in our business,” said Hislop.

The new service gives four times the bandwidth than the company’s previous network. It features QoS to help future integration of voice and IP EFTPOS services, in order to drive cost savings, and simpler management of the voice and data estate.

The solution’s management portal allows Jasco to access network statistics on demand such as daily and weekly usage statistics, usage by protocol and application type, and round trip times between servers and users.

Hislop said the next phase would be to roll out additional cost-saving projects on the back of the upgraded WAN, such as SIP voice and videoconferencing.