How Apogee evaluated and explored new network technology at its own pace

SUMMARY

Consequently, Apogee was so pleased that it asked to keep the demo kit, which is now helping the organisation ensure that the huge amounts of data on which its clients rely are delivered efficiently and rapidly.

BACKGROUND

Based in the British town of Telford and with over 25 years of experience, Apogee Property and Utility Consultants Ltd delivers best-in-class property and utility reports, from small residential developments to supporting the requirements of complex development consent order (DCO) applications. The volume of often time-sensitive data transmitted means that having robust and high-performance network connectivity is vital, as Mike Minton, Head of IT Services & Service Development, explains.

“We are at the forefront of using the latest technology in the geospatial industry, supplying reports containing large amounts of data that we collect and collate. We provide a 24/7 service to clients and often deliver reports within 24 hours, so a fast network and reliability is essential.” Mike provides some further context: “If someone is on-site and does not have the correct utility report, then that’s a problem. They need to know how to make sure that the utilities, such as gas, telecom or water, get to that site. They need to know where the ducts and cables are. We provide that information to support their decision-making.”

THE CHALLENGE

While the company’s previous WiFi system performed well for years, Mike felt that it no longer served its purpose, and the technology provider’s lack of assistance or response was a big issue. Says Mike, “Should the system go down, there was no one I could call. The manufacturer released changes very fast, and if we experienced problems, we would not receive assistance. There was one situation where I was on holiday at the other end of the country, and the WiFi system went down. Using my phone and FaceTime, I had to guide one of the directors through the settings to manually reconfigure the system. That is unacceptable: we cannot be in a situation with an outage, and we are not supported.”

So, with the decision made to replace the existing system, Mike contacted several network technology manufacturers, one of which was NETGEAR, which forwarded the enquiry to trusted local reseller Coventry-based Ballicom, whose Technical Sales Manager, Gary Trigger, then contacted Mike. The Coventry-based IT services company, which was established in 1993, provides a range of technology products and services with a strong focus on being a strategic partner that helps its customers meet their business goals. Daisy Davidson, VAR Channel Account Manager at NETGEAR, UK, says, “We know that when we put a prospective customer in touch with Ballicom, they can confidently expect a very proactive response.”

In turn, Gary is an advocate for NETGEAR: “I explained to Mike that NETGEAR is a company that genuinely seems to care and will help as much as they can. And the equipment is extremely good.” For instance, besides matching the existing WiFi system’s features, NETGEAR supported Apogee’s additional requirements, such as banning or allowing access to individual URLs rather than just filtering them by category.

DEMO KIT FOR CUSTOMISED CONFIGURATION

While Gary was sure NETGEAR was a good match for Apogee, he wanted them to have the opportunity to experience the technology themselves before making a commitment. So, he offered to loan the company a NETGEAR demo kit comprising a multigig pro network router (with Power over Ethernet), two wireless access points and a trial licence for Insight, NETGEAR’s cloud-based network management portal. From the moment the demo kit was delivered, Mike’s opinion of NETGEAR rose.

“The free trial kit was brilliant. It worked out of the box and was easy to understand. Also, I needed to reset the configuration to suit our needs, and I could go into the equipment and do that with a few clicks.” That said — and even with Mike’s decades of network engineering know-how — he did need to turn to Ballicom and NETGEAR for support, which was also a positive experience.

Mike reports, “ The support we have received from all the individual parties involved has been tremendous and has helped us sell on NETGEAR. Showing me how to set up features like URL forwarding and blocking, how to create VLANs, and how the network topology is set up has all helped me make the right decisions. NETGEAR support has been responsive, easy to understand and to the point.” He continues, “We’ve had great communication from Daisy and Gary, who kept us in the loop and didn’t forget about us. Persistence is a crucial part of a good working relationship.”

BOXES TICKED

Mike also cites the benefits of the NETGEAR Insight portal. “This is a big feature for us because if I’m off-site, I can still access and manage the network via the cloud. If something needs changing, then I can do that from wherever I am, from my mobile. Insight is easy to navigate, simple, and works.”

Mike adds, “The cost was not the reason for going with NETGEAR because it was not the cheapest option. However, it ticked all the boxes so that, together with the company’s longevity and my own previous experience using its technology, helped us to make our decision. Also, the subscription cost for Insight was priced exceptionally well. When I told my director about the positive experience with the NETGEAR demo kit, he said they are not getting that back!”

This proved to be the case. While NETGEAR demo kits are usually returned to the channel partner, since this system had been configured by Apogee for its specific requirements, everyone agreed that this should be an exception. Ballicom has since replaced the demo kit with a new one that it is able to share with other prospective customers. Gary Twigger says, “The NETGEAR demo kit is a great way for companies to experience the technology and experiment with it at their own pace, on their own terms, without risk.”

SMOOTH HANDOVER

To minimise the risk of disruption to Apogee’s customer service, Mike decided to run both the existing WiFi system and the NETGEAR replacement in tandem via a dual-WAN router from Apogee’s fibre operator. Furthermore, while Mike had put the NETGEAR system through its paces in test mode, its actual implementation took place during the relatively quieter period between Christmas 2024 and the New Year.

Mike concludes, “I’m confident that going forward, we have a network we can trust, with the knowledge that if we need support from Ballicom or NETGEAR, that will happen.” In the meantime, the demo kit has given Apogee the ability to test out how new network technology can meet its own needs, with the freedom to explore configuration on its own premises and at its own pace.

Links:

• https://apogeepropertyandutilityconsultants.com
• https://www.ballicom.co.uk