Use cases

Managing Branch Networks

Scaling and changing networks at the speed of modern business.

man in shop

When it comes to both the economy and new technology, about the only thing you can predict with certainty is their enduring unpredictability. Novel technologies can quickly overturn established business models, while economic shifts can significantly alter the course of a business’s investment plans. Many large organisations need the flexibility to expand or contract their network of branches and remote offices quickly and easily, in order to be more responsive to ever-changing market demands and opportunities.

If you run a retail business, for instance, you're constantly opening and closing branches, or transforming them to improve customer experience and the effectiveness of business operations. You need these sites up and running as fast as possible, securely and reliably connected to your company network and the wider Internet.

Maybe you're a bank that’s reshaping its branch network, or a franchisee that’s won a three-year bid to run 100 stores but lost an existing contract. You might be looking to open remote branches or offices in territories where you previously had no market presence. Other times you might just want to move down the road where there's better footfall. Or perhaps you’ve acquired a company and need to merge a network of new branches into your own.

Whatever the circumstances, every time you set up a new branch time to revenue is key.

Technologies such as SD-WAN are bringing new levels of flexibility for organisations to scale or change their branch networks quickly and easily. Instead of needing a skilled engineer or technician on site to configure hardware and software, you can now have a plug-and-play SD-WAN box that allows you to instantly set up a secure connection from the branch to your corporate network over the best available connection(s), automatically applying the correct configuration settings.

As your business makes changes to the customer experience you deliver, for example adding customer WiFi or networks to support increased use of devices in the branch, the network is no longer the barrier to change.

You can get a new branch up and running securely in hours over business or consumer broadband Internet links, or even 4G. Indeed, for some smaller branches, this may be all you ever need. But because SD-WAN’s network management and security functions are wholly software-based, traffic can easily be routed securely across any network and prioritised according to your business policies.

As your business makes changes to the customer experience you deliver, for example adding customer WiFi or networks to support increased use of devices in the branch, the network is no longer the barrier to change. And simple, centralised, portal-based management dramatically eases network and security management, allowing you to focus on your core revenue-generating activities and branch strategy. Talk to us to find out more.