COVER STORY nd-user
ARROWXL DELIVERS SEAMLESS CONNECTIVITY TO ITS CUSTOMERS
With the customer at the heart of its operations , ArrowXL prioritises delivering a seamless and secure network with minimal disruptions . Rachel Hopkins , CIO at ArrowXL , discusses how the organisation ’ s partnership with Node4 means it can now provide a faster , more robust and secure IT network to its customers and maintain a leading position in the logistics sector . ith over 25 years
W of experience , ArrowXL is the UK ’ s largest and longestestablished twoperson delivery and warehousing specialist . Headquartered in Wigan , the company focuses on delivering large , heavy and unwieldy orders such as sofas , domestic appliances and gym equipment . It also offers additional value-add services , including appliance fitting , furniture assembly and removal of old items .
The challenge
Finding a replacement for unreliable , outdated network connectivity and IT security infrastructure
ArrowXL places exceptional service at the centre of all its operations , ensuring deliveries are made on time and with minimal disruption to customers . This requires fast , reliable and secure IT across the company ’ s distribution network . So , when ArrowXL ’ s multi-site network began to suffer sustained outages and the incumbent supplier breached SLAs , it was time to take action .
The solution
Secure SD-WAN and renewed structured cabling
After looking at several competing solutions , the decision was taken to rollout Node4 ’ s fully managed Secure SD-WAN across eight sites and replace the structured cabling , comms cabinets and access points . This infrastructure would help provide improved connectivity indoors and outdoors for each location .
Rachel Hopkins , Chief Information Officer at ArrowXL , said : “ Right from the outset , there was a high degree of consensus about choosing Node4 ’ s Secure SD-WAN . Node4 ’ s bid team demonstrated the solution ’ s superior speed , versatility and security very clearly . They also made a compelling case for how their additional services and solutions could add further value to the business in the future .”
Security Operations Centre ( SOC ) Managed Service
With the initial phase of the SD-WAN rollout completed , Hopkins and her
Rachel Hopkins , CIO at ArrowXL team turned their attention to sourcing and implementing a managed threat and detect service . “ Node4 was our incumbent network and data centre provider by this stage , so partnering with it to deliver further securityrelated services enabled a much more responsive proposition . However , to ensure best value , we approached several other potential providers during the procurement process .
“ Ultimately , we chose Threat Detect , Node4 ’ s Security Operations Centre service – or SOC . We were particularly impressed by the solution ’ s use of the latest AI technology and third-party intelligence sources . But the real added value for us came from the fact that our network would be monitored round the www . intelligentciso . com
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