“CLOUD MANAGED NETWORK GIVES US REAL-TIME VISIBILITY”
New Zealand’s leading independent vehicle assessment company, VTNZ, has been helping Kiwi’s get from A to B safely for over 20 years. They carry out over one and a half million car and truck assessments every year, with over 30,000 businesses across New Zealand using VTNZ for vehicle assessment services.
“With over 1000 staff, 500 automotive technicians and more than 150 locations scattered around the country, it’s essential for a sizeable operation like us to have fast and efficient communication.”
As VTNZ’s General Manager of Business Systems and Technology,
Sean Davidson’s job is to make sure everything operates smoothly.
VTNZ had been looking for a solution to help modernise their business without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on traditional infrastructure. “Our old solution wasn’t meeting our requirements, so we needed a new approach to managing our network”.
It was Spark’s recommendation to build Cloud Managed Network into their business.
VTNZ wasn’t able to get the most of out of modern cloud-based applications due to lack of bandwidth. Things like remote training and video conferencing were difficult - and with their head office based in Wellington, this proved to be an issue. They also had to dispatch a technician to a site to fix network issues – when operating a business with over 150 locations spread around New Zealand, that can be difficult.
But with Cloud Managed Network, network changes are made from an online portal. It has improved visibility greatly, as Sean can see what’s happening in real time and take action quickly if there’s a problem. With the increasing threat of malware and fraud, the level of security the network provides has also given Sean greater peace of mind.
A 6am phone call from a frustrated VTNZ branch manager wasn’t unusual for Sean 12 months ago. Now that doesn’t happen as much. Today he comes to work with confidence knowing the systems will be up and running - and if there is a problem with the main internet connection, it automatically fails over to the 4G network so that branches can continue to operate -in most cases, they’re not even aware there’s been a problem. A stable and reliable network is really important for a business like VTNZ. “If a customer comes into our branch and we can’t take payment on our EFTPOS systems, or we can’t connect to customer or government databases, we can’t do business.”
Recently when Sean stepped off the plane in Johannesburg, he heard there had been an earthquake in Wellington. “I flipped up my phone, connected to the Wi-Fi and I could see that the network was running seamlessly with no problems and I could fix and action it if there was.”
Thanks to Cloud Managed Network, business is running smoothly and it’s given VTNZ the edge it needs. “It scales up really well, it’s reliable, has enhanced business agility and has enabled massive digital transformation”. Moving to a cloud-based network has made Sean’s life much easier. “With 4G backup and network security, a lot of my worries have gone away, plus I can see what’s happening on the network whenever I need to”.