VenuesLive NSW creates unified IT infrastructure with Ricoh
We can now view and manage our entire IT infrastructure from a single pane of glass. We are able to view the status of every device on the network which streamlines our management and makes it much easier to respond to any issues that might arise.
Products and Services
- Ricoh IT Services deployment: Software-defined WAN architecture built on Cisco Meraki networking equipment.
Key Benefits
- A single pane of glass to view and manage VenuesLive NSW’s entire IT infrastructure enables the organisation to streamline management and makes it easier to respond to any issues.
- Proactively manage the performance of the environment – crucial during large events.
- Reduction in network-related IT operational costs by around 20 percent.
The challenge
While the VenuesLive NSW IT team had full management and control of the technology infrastructures at both Stadium Australia and Bankwest Stadium, this control didn’t extend to the other five facilities in which the company operates. To connect them to its core datacentres located at the two primary venues, the organisation had to rely on a mix of virtual private networks and other connectivity components. When an issue occurred, it wasn’t always clear what had gone wrong and what needed to be done to fix it. In many cases the IT team had little choice but to travel to the site to isolate and resolve the problems.
Each venue also had a bespoke configuration with some parts operated by the venue and some by VenuesLive NSW. This made it difficult to have a centralised and standardised approach to management. Also, updates such as software upgrades and security patches could not be easily rolled out when required. The organisation wanted to streamline its IT management enabling it to make its systems more reliable.
The solution
A software-defined WAN architecture built on Cisco Meraki networking equipment connects the company’s Nutanix servers with each of its remote venues. The company’s three main applications, Task Retail Point of Sale system, Time Target rostering platform, and UBS Venue and Event Management system run on the Nutanix servers at both Stadium Australia and Bankwest Stadium and are accessed as required at each of the other venues via the SD-WAN. A Microsoft Office 365 platform is also accessed by staff over the network along with a number of other business applications.
The benefits
Single pane of glass
Able to view and manage entire IT infrastructure from a single pane of glass. This includes insights to the status of every device on the network which streamlines management and makes it easier to respond to any issues that might arise.
Central management
Changes can be pushed from a central location enabling the organisation to proactively manage the performance of the environment - crucial during large events.
Reduced costs
A vendor-agnostic approach enabled VenuesLive NSW to adopt the technologies that were the best fit for its requirements and enabled it to reduce network-related IT operational costs by around 20 percent.