Ericom’s work with Pybar Mining involved switching over an end-of-life Software-Defined Wide Area Network to a new solution across 20 sites within a short timeframe. The nature of this kind of work is urgent because mining operations depend on robust, secure networks to keep their complex and essential communications systems working optimally.
In order to avoid the problem of having to invest more into a soon-to-be retired product, the underground mining operator reached out to Telstra and Ericom for help finding a suitable alternative. They needed a simplified management platform as their internal IT team was small and dedicated to supporting other areas of the business. Ericom and Telstra worked together to provide their client with a demo and technical session showcasing different software.
After having conversations with Ericom about various options, the company chose to go with Fortinet, a leading SD-WAN solution for large, security-sensitive enterprises. Ahead of the 6-week deadline they were given, Ericom had priced up the right solution, processed the paperwork, and ordered and supplied the hardware. Allowing time to get equipment to various remote locations was critical so that everything could be successfully installed before the hard stop date of the legacy software.
Anticipating this risk, Ericom and Fortinet arranged for the hardware to be collected and driven to a meeting point to speed up the hand-over process. Another challenge was ensuring the network was set up for remote access by our IT support team as it would be difficult to send someone out to these sites.
Following the guidance of Ericom and Fortinet, the company was able to complete the installation themselves with minimal hassle ahead of their transition deadline. They have reported that the system is working even better than their last and that everyone is very happy with it because it provides a singular management platform for ease of management by their internal IT staff. The new system improved their ability to deploy, troubleshoot, manage and report on their environment.
Not only that, the success of the project meant that Ericom was able to expand the company’s Fortinet environment to several other solutions that have further enhanced operations and IT management. The project was a collective effort involving four team players (Ericom, Telstra, Fortinet and Pybar Mining) who worked extremely well together for an outstanding outcome.
