Building a global connectivity platform to support growth in new markets

The challenge

TechnoPro Holdings is one of Japan’s largest human resources services providers, specialising in technology at the core of the business. The company delivers technical solutions across Japan’s electronics and machinery, IT infrastructure, science and medicine, construction, and engineering and energy sectors.

TechnoPro needed to improve its connectivity with its overseas operations to better support its international growth.

Key issues

As part of its global growth strategy, TechnoPro had opened several offices in mainland China which require secure, reliable connectivity to the company headquarters in Japan. However, over time TechnoPro found its incumbent firewall and SD-WAN solution running on IPVPN to be lacking, with the connectivity provided by the private leased line unstable and not very cost-effective.

As the service was provided by a Japanese vendor, the Chinese offices had to call the IT team in Japan to troubleshoot or follow up with the vendor. The IT team decided to seek a solutions provider to improve the connectivity experience, and to offer local language support for overseas sites.

TechnoPro’s IT Infrastructure Manager, Binaya Sharma, explained: "Our plan was to deliver a faster network across our locations in Asia and extend it to the rest of our international operations in the future. With limited internal resources, it was a challenge for us to manage our global infrastructure in-house and so we wanted a single, reliable partner to manage connectivity between Japan and our global locations.

"We needed a provider that could deliver a streamlined and secure solution. Having previously worked with Telstra, we were confident that it could meet these challenges."

Solution

The Telstra team saw the potential for TechnoPro to save costs by reducing the use of IPVPN, switching to a primarily Internet-based network to connect its Chinese offices to the Japan headquarters. This was paired with Telstra’s Remote Site Access (RSA) Gateway, which offers fast, secure and scalable connectivity between international sites through an Internet and MPLS network.

As part of the process we:

• Conducted a successful proof of concept trial using the RSA gateway to ensure it would run optimally across TechnoPro’s existing infrastructure.
• Worked closely with TechnoPro on a smooth roll-out of the RSA Gateway solution to minimise any disruption to its business.
• Switched the company’s network from the Japan vendor to its own in less than a day, and delivered the entire solution within two months.

Outcome

"Telstra offered us the proof of concept at no additional cost so we could be sure that we could successfully adopt this technology across our global network. It turned out our existing equipment, while not the standard prescribed for RSA Gateway, was compatible with the solution. While the solution was already priced competitively, this reinforced its cost-effectiveness since we didn’t need to pay for new equipment," Mr Sharma explained.

With the reduced use of IPVPN, TechnoPro saw cost savings in connectivity for its Chinese offices. As Telstra provided a 24-hour global help desk offering local language support for TechnoPro’s overseas offices, this freed up resources in the IT team which was then better placed to support the company’s business strategy.

Implementation – no upgrade to new equipment required for RSA Gateway

Connectivity – cost savings from reduced use of IPVPN

Support – 24/7 global local language support for overseas offices

Key takeaways

"Having one provider to manage it all, available 24/7 and speaking our language makes it easier for our team. Our China team doesn’t need to call the IT team in Japan for support any more, which saves us both time and costs," said Mr Sharma.

TechnoPro’s IT team can now spend more time focusing on innovation to drive its business forward, instead of troubleshooting technical issues.

According to Mr Sharma, this lets the company focus more on cutting-edge technology that will enable better delivery of its services, rather than day-to-day support, fixing problems or being on the phone for hours.

Mr Sharma sees the potential for TechnoPro to grow its relationship with Telstra, as the company expands in China and other international markets: "We now have a solution that’s designed for the future of our business. We’re excited about the future and have an ambitious growth strategy for markets such as India, where we will hire many people and need new branches, systems and solutions.

"We’ll look to extend our RSA Gateway solution at these locations, and also consider other offerings from Telstra such as software-defined networking for even more flexibility, as well as security and data centre services."

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