Productivity loss means financial loss and downtime was impacting the bottom line at this mid-size manufacturing company. Learn how we helped improve system reliability & productivity with Azure & Meraki SD-WAN.
“Moving to Microsoft Azure cloud opens up new opportunities for our clients by providing a lower cost outlay and better productivity. Adding a Software Defined WAN will simplify network operations and improve reliability and security.”
— Greg Gatzke, President, ZAG Technical Services
Situation
This mid-size manufacturing company was using systems that were unreliable. The ERP system would go down multiple times a day. Email was also in a situation where the server was running out of space and was unstable. This was impacting the organization’s ability to function optimally and was leading to loss of productivity.
Productivity loss means financial loss and all that downtime was impacting the bottom line and frustrating employees trying to do their job.
The client engaged ZAG Technical Services after hearing about our comprehensive approach from client references and vendor partners such as Microsoft and Cisco.
Solution
ZAG Technology Strategists performed a 360° Technology Strategy Review and determined that the client would be better served with a move to Azure, the Microsoft cloud services platform. This would reduce upfront costs and provide more agility and fast-paced innovation than on premises environments.
ZAG stood up an Azure instance and migrated the key systems to the platform. This provided the organization with a secure platform that allowed for system expansion as needed.
Email was migrated to Office 365. This provided a stable platform with greatly increased collaboration capabilities including Microsoft Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Skype for Business and Teams.
To protect from a WAN outage, ZAG deployed a Cisco Meraki SD-WAN solution. The Meraki SDWAN uses a unique combination of technologies to create a solution that is easy to configure, deploy and manage. This solution ensures that access to critical components such as ERP, email and other key systems, will be reachable should there be a problem with one of the two Internet connections.
ZAG’s thorough analysis pinpointed the instability of the network as the biggest factor leading to frequent outages that impacted productivity.
Summary
After these changes, the client is running on a stable platform that is enabling the success of their business. The systems are now available and enhancing the organization’s ability to do business.
The client CFO stated, “The move to the cloud has been life changing for us. We are focusing on our business now and not the next outage. It has dramatically enhanced our ability to compete.”
Benefits
Investing in new technologies that align with the business goals, provides greater value in operational productivity, enabling the client to better serve their customers and grow their business.
For more information on ZAG’s Cloud Services and integration expertise, please request a consultation. Contact: +1 408.383.2000.
Customer Profile
Customer: Anonymous
Customer size: SMB >250 employees
Country or region: Bay Area, California, United States
Industry: Manufacturing
Partner: ZAG Technical Services
Partner website: zagtech.flywheelstaging.com
Software & Hardware Deployed
- Microsoft Azure
- Microsoft Office 365
- Cisco Meraki SD-WAN
