High performance network enables workplace dynamism for German IT services provider – and creates showroom for innovation

The events of 2020 led many organisations to question the role of the office. Is it a functional space? A social space? A brand statement?

实际上，未来的办公室可能融合了这三个：聚会，工作和协作的地方以及组织价值观的物理体现。对于德国IT服务提供商来说，这是一个很大的想法，其新总部围绕2019年的讨论引起了这些问题的讨论。

"As a service provider, we sell quality," says Jan-Hendrik Abels, Think About IT's CTO. "I believe a beautiful head office can be inspiring for our employees and our customers."

"As a service provider, we sell quality," says Jan-Hendrik Abels, Think About IT's CTO. "I believe a beautiful head office can be inspiring for our employees and our customers."

创建智能网络基础架构

该建筑于2021年1月开业，设有落地窗，抛光的混凝土地板，汽车的电子充电点和现场健身房。在美学中，它类似于建筑师的办公室，而不是IT服务提供商。

The building has more than just style. It is also smart.

The network, secured byAruba ClearPassand overseen byAruba Central, is underpinned by Aruba CX wired backbone in the DC. This, together with the scalable and unified wired and wireless access environment, provides a platform on which to manage the building and explore new digital innovations.

Abels says Aruba was chosen because of the "wholeness" of its thinking. "It was important we considered the added value the network could bring," says Abels. "It's not only about managing a switch or access point. With Aruba we create an intelligent infrastructure."

Demonstrating the Possibilities of Smart Buildings

With Covid-19 still raging, the first few months saw just 30% occupancy. Wireless mobility and the adoption of Microsoft Teams® allowed staff to work from anywhere in the building. However, this is just the start of a journey, says Abels. Think About IT has so far implemented just a small number of the functionalities the new network architecture allows.

他说：“到目前为止，我们的工作一直是务实的。兴奋在未来。”

在总部Aruba Edge Services Platform (ESP)will support access controls, environmental sensors, desk- and room-booking and navigation. There are also plans to link the e-charging stations, with alerts sent to staff when their car is fully charged. All of this will be used to demonstrate the possibilities of smart building management – and to demonstrate Think About IT's smart building services to customers while creating brand new experiences for the employees.

"There will no doubt be elements of our head office that will resonate with different customers. I'm certain the healthcare sector, for instance, will be interested in wayfinding, or asset-tracking for automotive customers," says Abels.

将复杂性降低为重定向资源

The new head office is an outward expression of the company's embrace of innovation. There is also a less obvious operational story.

"Many of our customers want to make their infrastructure less complex. They want to manage fewer machines. We're the same," says Abels. "Our adoption of cloud-native solutions like Aruba Central is an example of this: an AI-enabled single point of management with a view over everything.

"Reducing complexity means we have more time to spend with our customers – reducing the complexity of their operations."

简化但强大的总部网络体系结构

考虑一下's data centre is located at the head office. It has a robust and scalable spine-leaf architecture built aroundAruba CX 6300M and 6300F switches。WLAN访问通过Aruba CX 6200F series switches。

The staff enjoy secureWi-Fi 6 accessdelivered via Aruba. Wired and wireless access are consistently monitored and managed via ClearPass Policy Manager and the infrastructure is managed through the cloud-based Aruba Central platform.

Fast high-density Wi-Fi and unified wired and wireless infrastructure are not exclusive to the head office. The company's remote locations enjoy centrally managed and secured internet-based WAN connectivity based on the Aruba SD-Branch architecture.

Delivering HQ-like branch connectivity and services

Fast high-density Wi-Fi and unified wired and wireless infrastructure are not exclusive to the head office. The company's remote locations enjoy centrally managed and secured internet-based WAN connectivity based on theAruba SD-Branch architecture。

Depending on the size and number of users, each branch hosts one or moreAruba 9004分支网关which connect, via the internet, to anAruba 7030系列头顶网关（VPNC）在DC处集群。因此，所有公司流量均在分支机构和DC之间牢固地隧道，提供了安全的本地Internet突破和WAN连接性。访问策略，SLA和连接服务由集中管理。

AI-based self-healing and experience optimisation

尽管Aruba Central使网络管理和监督变得简单，但对IT团队的思考已经通过从用户或设备的角度对其进行监视，从而进一步进行了无缝和无故障连接。

By placingAruba User Experience Insight (UXI) sensorsin key locations, the team can enjoy a real-time view of how applications, services and all other critical parameters of the network perform. Most problems, often due to configuration issues on a client device or a remote service, are detected and proactively fixed even before anyone notices them. However, when the team does receive a now increasingly less frequent support call, the task of diagnosing and remediating the issue is hugely simplified.

简化业务扩展的实用性

考虑一下has seven locations across Germany, with its new head office in Bochum. The company has grown dramatically in recent years, from 15 employees to 140 and it has seen a five-fold growth in turnover in the past six years. Continued expansion is expected.

The Aruba approach establishes a network architecture that can be applied to various sizes of branch office to enhance business agility and facilitate rapid growth and response to market opportunities. As the company expands, it can move quickly, securely set up onsite project teams with customers or integrate acquisitions with minimum fuss.

The IT team can define branch network configuration templates and security policies which they can simply push out and deploy to existing or new locations. This zero-touch provisioning capability helps save significant time and costs, eliminating the need for specialised staff on-site and significantly reducing travel.

“一旦我们安装的基础设施a new site configured and operational within minutes, just by clicking on Central and deploying required configurations and security policies," explains Abels. "This scalability and portability is extremely valuable to us.

"In Aruba we have a partner that not only provides the network technology but that also acts as a gateway into innovative applications, new integrations and optimised experiences."