A flexible managed network enhances the iSpot customer experience

Building the connections that boost customer experience

To meet their own high standards, as well those of their main business partner, iSpot Poland strives to offer an exceptional customer experience. As an Apple Premium Partner, they need a network that can connect everything from their headquarters and warehouses to their physical stores and user devices.

The network should have the necessary speed, adaptability and bandwidth to be invisible to employees and customers – in short, it should just work.

iSpot customers rarely have only one Apple device, and the number of devices per user is increasing all the time. This means iSpot’s in-store Wi-Fi must be able to accommodate a growing number of devices and be flexible enough to handle peak retail times when customers stream into iSpots all over the country at the same time.

With a small in-house IT team, iSpot saw the benefit of choosing a global partner to provide a network-as-a-service solution that could quickly be rolled out to new stores, expand as warehouses grew, and cost no more than their current solution. They also wanted to be able to implement offline backups and improve their security posture.

The network upgrade was part of their larger IT transformation goals.

A secure and flexible foundation

Network flexibility and speed were essential for iSpot. The network connects their headquarters, their warehouses and all iSpot stores. Each store has a separate network and offers Wi-Fi to customers. There is also a separate network for production.

With our software-driven solution, the entire access layer of the network runs on Cisco Meraki, which enables us to monitor and manage the entire network through a single platform.

The administrator can easily modify network parameters in any area to meet the requirements of different users in the office environment, the warehouse and stocking environment, and the stores. While the network usage of the office and warehouses is relatively stable, for stores it varies throughout the day and the year - this solution allows real-time monitoring, providing clear and valuable insights for the IT team.

All the devices and traffic policies are configured from a cloud dashboard. This makes the work of network administrators more efficient, allowing them to easily configure and monitor all devices from a single platform. Implementing a change that will be reflected in multiple sites no longer requires them to connect to many devices separately, while advanced built-in troubleshooting tools improve efficiency of investigating and correcting any issues.

The solution can prioritize network traffic, ensuring that iSpot’s networks have enough bandwidth at all times, whether it’s for demonstrations, connecting to the cloud to access client data or simply dealing with an influx of user devices connecting to the Wi-Fi.

The solution also enables us to automate updates and changes to network devices based on demand. This ensures that the network is standardized, which improves security. Each store has a UTM device, providing reliable and safe connections with other locations and securing the traffic to the Internet. In future, iSpot plans to add further security features to the access layer of their network.

Connecting everything from headquarters to user devices

The Cisco Meraki solution has boosted the speed of the network, creating a great customer and employee experience where the network works so well that it fades into the background. It also has the flexibility to connect iSpot’s headquarters, warehouses and stores, and accommodate customers entering the stores.

"The opening of stores in new locations takes place extremely rapidly," explains Wojciech Serwatka, Marketing Manager at iSpot. "Using the latest technology will help us to expand our store network in Poland and help us make data-driven decisions. We can implement the solution very quickly for new locations, reducing the time it takes to open new stores."

Protecting data better

"A crucial element is the sense of security we give to our customers. They feel looked after and have full confidence that their data is secure," says store manager Olga Jakubiak.

Different virtual networks for different users – like employees and customers – gives users access to only the data they need. This system also limits the opportunity for unauthorized access and cyberattacks.

Creating a network that’s easy to manage

The new solution enables iSpot to update their entire network through a single platform and add stores without having to manually configure the network.

A network that’s geared for growth

Adding a new network to support a new store can be done in three to four hours. It’s easy to extend the network since they don’t have to buy additional assets each time the network scales up.