VIDEO: Custom Connectivity Solution for SaaS Provider [Case Study]

Brian Stanton:

A time management software company approached us. Their customer was having challenges around employee fraud, paying too much overtime, so they were way over budget.

So the state legislator demanded to implement a secure time tracking system.

Greg LaBrie:

We were approached by a time management software company with an issue they were having with their end customer, that was trying to get connectivity to the internet, to their software as a service solution, and was getting challenged with being able to connect to any fixed wired network or wireless network within the facility.

So we went to work on trying to solve the problem, and we were able to come up with a solution that gave them ubiquitous access to the internet through a cellular connection, and we partnered with Verizon Wireless to do that, using their machine-to-machine solution.

The biggest challenges that we faced, when trying to design the solution, was coming up with all the requirements that the software as a service company needed, was not only cellular connection, but it was in a NEMA-rated box, because of weather. It was... battery needed to power the solution for an extended period of time, five to six hours, and it also needed to be as small a solution as possible, for less impact to the customer.

The actual design included the main component, which as as cellular router from HPE networking, and then was connected inside of a NEMA-rated connection kit with a battery and miscellaneous parts.

The challenges was not only making it functional, but being able to make it manufacturable by our own internal staff at WEI. Most IT solutions providers don't have the capability to manufacture 250 connection kits, which was what was needed in this case, for the first phase of this operation. And what we did, is we looked at different ways to do it and decided that our own group of integration and imaging folks had the capability, we had the capacity here at WEI in our warehouse and integration center to do the work.

Mark Hargreaves:

We did all the configuration in house, and that included loading up configuration files, updating the firmware, programming the clocks, setting up the portal to make sure that the clock would recognize properly.

Greg LaBrie:

After the kits were manufactured here at WEI, they needed to be deployed to 130 sites over a six month period. And we again decided to in-source that installation, with technicians here at WEI, because of the high level of security clearances that were needed for this Federal facility, and to control the quality of the installation.

We were able to do that, and scale, and meet the customer's demands, both for quality and time-frame.

Mark Hargreaves:

We ended up working at about 120 facilities. There was 250 connection kits that got hung, and it was almost 800 clocks that got hung.

The added value that WEI provided for this particular solution started off right with the kit itself. I don't know how many places would have been able to come up with a solution to be able to connect a clock to the time management software company, without having to go through another network.

Brian Stanton:

This project is a good example of how WEI can scale. We own the project from beginning to end. From the design, implementation, to the rollout, to the project management, WEI was there throughout the entire project to guarantee the success.

Greg LaBrie:

What made this project really interesting and successful was not only did we meet the demands of our customer and their customer, but it really showed how WEI can come together for innovating a unique product, and deploying it ina wide scale. But it also was a good application of the things to come, for the Internet of Things, where lots of different devices, small and large, will be connected to the internet and need cellular or other type of internet connectivity. And WEI is definitely poised to be able to solve those customers' problems and deploy them out in the field in a large scale.