Supporting a leading electrical wholesaler’s digital transformation journey, as a trusted strategic partner

An Exponential-e case study

Supporting a leading electrical wholesaler’s digital transformation journey, as a trusted strategic partner

The Customer

The customer is a leading electrical wholesaler, making cutting-edge solutions from top manufacturers available to professionals from over 400 locations across the UK.

The Challenge

The customer was first introduced to Exponential-e in 2017 when evaluating potential suppliers to replace their existing WAN solution. When considering the options available, the customer was keen to establish a strong working relationship with a single technology partner who would be able and willing to work closely with them to ensure not only the success of the initial WAN deployment, but continue to engage with their own teams to identify and act upon further areas for improvement.

Exponential-e’s consultative approach and broad technical expertise made them an immediate standout, and so in 2018, a dedicated account team was assigned to manage the initial project and establish a clear path for the customer’s digital transformation journey in the years ahead.

While the customer had a clear idea what they wanted to achieve with their new infrastructure, they were open to a range of different paths to achieving this, with the design and deployment of a fully consolidated network for both corporate and internet being a key priority, in order to streamline communication between colleagues and customers– all without compromising the integrity of critical data.

Solution

In our sector, the IT infrastructure is very much the underpinning foundations of our successful customer service offering. That means it needs to be completely resilient and dependable, so the other teams throughout the company can focus on service quality. Our IT infrastructure also needs to scale at ease. With that in mind, we need technology partners who’re not just willing to provide the technology we need but work with us to ensure our infrastructure can grow with the business. That’s our key criteria for any new partners we choose to work with, and it’s one where Exponential-e were an immediate standout. It’s been an exciting journey, and one that we look forward to continuing together.

The customer’s immediate connectivity requirements were fulfilled by a 400-site broadband network, with FortiGate firewalls at each site for enhanced security, and 4G backup for an additional level of resiliency. Consolidating the disparate systems and providers originally in place, Exponential-e assumed sole responsibility for management of the new solution, streamlining management and support processes by acting as a single point of contact.

With this strong foundation in place, the scope of the project expanded organically, beginning with the creation of a comprehensive strategy document that considered all key IT challenges, goals, and requirements and provided a clear overview of current best practice.

Drawing on this, the Exponential-e account team suggested hyper-converged infrastructure as an ideal fit for their immediate and long-term goals, allowing legacy systems to be methodically phased out in favour of more scalable, resilient, and – ultimately – futureproof infrastructure, with enhanced business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities. The result was a dual-data centre IaaS solution, created using Dell VxRail HCI platforms, seamlessly integrated with the WAN solution and delivered as a fully managed service, with all servers consolidated under Exponential-e.

The same account team have continued to work with the customer since the initial project’s conception, with regular services reviews helping drive new innovations and optimisations, ensuring business continuity is maintained. With an expanding IT team and rapid evolution taking place across numerous areas of the business, this has frequently proven essential. By ensuring the IT infrastructure continues evolving to suit both the business’ requirements and the wider digital landscape, the customer is always able to trade effectively and efficiently, with the application development side of the IT department free to focus on new service innovations.

Crucially, a consolidated network is being delivered, replacing the existing DSL connections with 50Mb/100Mb fibre at each site, securely split into separate VLANs for corporate and internet traffic. The SD-WAN solution is based on FortiGate devices with integrated Wi-Fi to securely optimise performance and a Cradlepoint cellular back-up solution provides operational resilience.

In this way, Exponential-e has evolved from the customer’s technology provider to a trusted, strategic partner, ensuring their underlying infrastructure supports their ongoing growth, while maintaining the service quality their customers have come to expect.

Solution benefits

A successful digital transformation of the entire IT infrastructure, with hands-on consultation to identify the optimal solution wrap
A single, fully consolidated network for both corporate and internet traffic
Legacy systems phased out in favour of scalable, futureproof infrastructure
Hands-on support from a dedicated account team at Exponential-e, with regular reviews to maintain quality and drive innovation
A robust, scalable platform for exceptional service delivery across the UK, and a seamless customer experience