Rethink Mental Illness
Information was shared between sites and back to Rethink's data centre using a traditional IPsec VPN that encrypted traffic sent across the internet.
Rethink Mental Illness
Although this WAN (Wide Area Network) solution met their immediate requirements Rethink were looking to roll out advanced applications including CRM and Video Conferencing.
These new demands on the network would mean that greater bandwidth was required and with service levels deteriorating they decided to consolidate all their services with one provider and began to identify potential partners.
The challenge
Rethinks’ requirement for a more reliable and advanced WAN was the desire to use video conferencing as a business tool. Video conferencing was a key requirement for Rethink as it would allow their staff to work more efficiently, reduce time and costs associated with travelling and also help enhance their green credentials.
Rethinks’ current network was incapable of handling Video traffic due partly to bandwidth limitations but crucially due to the fact that the network could not identify video traffic and treat it with the priority it required.
Rethink needed secure and reliable access to critical applications, improved support and a network that was fully managed and capable of handling real-time traffic. Realising the need to re-evaluate their current connectivity and provider Rethink turned to Zen Internet for advice and recommendations.
The solution
Following a consultation with Rethink we proposed they connect their 7 core office locations into an IP VPN solution that offered complete security for inter-site traffic and provided the platform for deploying their Video Conferencing solution. We also proposed a second IP VPN solution to provide a private network for their service locations ensuring that the 2 networks were segregated to offer additional security and easier administration.
The London HQ was connected to the primary IP VPN using a 100Mbps Ethernet line circuit with other sites connecting to the network using 10Mbps Ethernet line circuits all with various levels of bandwidth provisioned.
Initially 53 service sites were connected into the second IP VPN using ADSL broadband connectivity terminated using Thomson ST546 routers. Rethink has plans to introduce other service locations in the future and these can easily be incorporated into the network within just 5 working days. Rethink took the opportunity to host their critical applications in Zen’s data centre to improve application response times, improve security and support their disaster recovery requirements.
The benefits
Since deploying Zen’s IP VPN solution Rethink have experienced dramatic improvements in employee productivity made possible by improved network performance and reliability. Rethink staff are now assured of a reliable and stable connection to critical applications hosted in Zen’s data centre or at their HQ.
Video conferencing has been fully deployed between the 7 sites connected into the primary IP VPN which has already delivered some major benefits with £100, 000 saving in the first year alone.
It has also improved productivity as staff can easily hold virtual meetings with geographically dispersed staff at short notice. The new technology also had a positive impact on the environment reducing Rethinks overall emissions and has helped provide a better work/life balance for their staff with less travelling and overnight stays.
