Aruba合作伙伴为非洲下一代金融服务平台的数字化转型提供动力

Mukuru describes itself as a ‘Next Gen Financial Services Platform’. It provides a range of services to more than eight million customers throughout Africa, including cash transfer, a card product, grocery offerings and funeral cover. Its call centres deal in over 30 different languages.

“Our focus is on Africa’s emerging consumers, who have previously been excluded from financial services and therefore have been financially excluded in many respects,” says Lindley Heynes, Mukuru’s Head of IT Operations. “We try to address the pain points and value leakages in the informal system through technology that leapfrogs those voids between the cash and digital worlds, but in a manner that our customers will still recognise for them to take that step.”

“Our focus is on Africa’s emerging consumers, who have previously been excluded from financial services and therefore have been financially excluded in many respects,” says Lindley Heynes, Mukuru’s Head of IT Operations. “We try to address the pain points and value leakages in the informal system through technology that leapfrogs those voids between the cash and digital worlds, but in a manner that our customers will still recognise for them to take that step.”

Service Innovation to Create Brand Loyalty

The focus for Mukuru is service innovation and an improved customer experience. It wants to establish operations that are agile, mobile and efficient, and free time and energy to focus on new services.

Heynes解释说，在竞争激烈的市场中，首先是新服务事项。Mukuru设法创建了一个差异的服务点，并始终如一地客户满意度得分：“我们建立忠诚度的两种主要方式是通过人类的个人方法来实现客户支持和我们技术的实力。

“We recognised that a strong network was key to everything but we didn’t want to be tied up managing the infrastructure and resolving issues,” says Morne Fourie, Senior System Engineer, Mukuru. “Given our other workloads and the pace of growth it made sense to bring in a third-party to plan and manage the refresh and ongoing operations.”

Leaning on a Managed Service Provider

Mukuru’s network upgrade is planned, deployed and managed by MySky Networks, a platinum Aruba partner in South Africa. It involves an overhaul of the network infrastructure at 14 Mukuru offices, including the main locations in the Waverley and Rosebank areas of Johannesburg.

The MySky approach has been to deploy a mix of access points including AP-505 and AP-515 Wi-Fi 6 APs, with Aruba 2930M and 2530 switches in the head office and call centre locations. For the first time, Mukuru owns no network hardware.

The entire environment is managed on Aruba Central. “The reporting we get from Central is more stable, more accurate than anything we’ve used previously,” says Jamie Carruthers, Chief Operating Officer, MySky Networks.

该服务为所有Mukuru员工提供了网络访问，并将扩展到13个分支机构和更多信息亭。未来的计划包括向Mukuru客户提供访客访问权限。正在考虑使用Aruba Clearpass来编排安全的公司访问和来宾服务。

减轻网络负担对不断增长的业务负担

“The MSP model means that we can focus on our core business,” says Fourie. “We want to make sure our people are focused on the right things. In this market we cannot lag behind.”

Heynes further emphasises: “An MSP helps us unlock other value, some of which is not immediately obvious to the bottom line but is vital for sustained growth.”

The MySky managed service means Mukuru can hand-off day-to-day operations but retain clear SLAs. MySky’s product expertise means Mukuru has foresight on future technology. It also offers expert integration with third-party platforms such as firewall services.
“MySky ensures we have constant access to the best skills in terms of managing our physical network infrastructure,” says Fourie.
This is mission-critical. As Mukuru business continues to grow, it manages millions of transactions each year and provides remittance services from a growing network of retailers and banks. It has more than 1,000 booths and branches across Africa and its digital channels are growing.

Growth will come with new services and expanding operations throughout Africa.

“The most important part of the MySky managed service is that it frees us to focus on growth and new services,” says Fourie. “We have a clear view of network usage, of bandwidth, of downtime. This helps us plan any link upgrades or review branch traffic. Better planning means more effective use of our resources.”

For MySky, the Mukuru project is the latest in a series of engagements. The company is already a major user of Aruba Central and it is gradually migrating existing customers over to Central from Aruba AirWave. MySky also hosts Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager as a multitenant platform that can bolt onto any existing managed service offering.

Enabling a Mobile Workplace

Fourie承认,他最初持怀疑态度ability to go Wi-Fi-first, preferring the assumed solidity of wired: “We have some challenging locations where it is not easy to plan coverage. If we are to use Wi-Fi it has to be enterprise-ready.”

Mysky服务包括每个位置的完整站点评估和计划，可提供企业类Wi-Fi。这意味着Mukuru的团队享受完整的工作场所移动性。跨不同分支机构工作的员工，包括销售，IT和管理层，无论何时何地，无论何时何地，都可以无缝且安全。

It underlines Mukuru’s image as a modern, flexible place to work, and helps attract new talent.

Creating a service point of difference

The engagement also accelerates Mukuru’s digital plans. The business wants to drive transactions to its digital channels, including the Mukuru app, but recognises that connectivity is not always easy or cheap for migrant workers.

“Our purpose is to uplift the lives of migrant workers. Our services can empower customers to get ahead in life,” says Fourie.

Accelerating Growth in MySky’s Service Business

For MySky, the Mukuru project is the latest in a series of engagements. The company is already a major user of Aruba Central and it is gradually migrating existing customers over to Central from Aruba AirWave. MySky also hosts Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager as a multitenant platform that can bolt onto any existing managed service offering.

“我们约60％的收入来自托管服务，” Mysky Networks首席执行官Dylan Horsten说。“ OPEX模型，每月费用的一致性，保证的支持和没有隐藏的费用是一个有吸引力的方案。网络技术可能很复杂，客户喜欢有清晰的路线图。我们的主要客户群是中小型企业，就像任何企业一样，他们都在寻求成长。托管服务模型使他们能够逐步发展网络以及支出。

“Central has been massive for us in terms of our ability to scale and to manage multitenant environments. The ability to manage any sized network from the cloud, off a unified platform, will accelerate our managed services business.

“The fact that MySky uses Aruba as the vendor of choice gives our customers confidence that the infrastructure and software used to provide the managed service is of the highest quality.”