TISA Speditions AG

Replacing MPLS in two countries

For many companies, replacing an existing Internet connection is a difficult step. In many cases, decision makers prefer accepting the shortcomings of an established system to the complex task of a full reorganization. Yet, such a step frequently leads to improvement in quality and to cost reductions, as can be exemplified by the TISA AG. The Swiss transportation company with its headquarters in Widnau in the Canton of St. Gallen has replaced its existing MPLS network for five sites, four of them in Switzerland and one in Austria, by a Viprinet solution – with exclusively positive effects.

Overview of benefits

Simple configuration and administration
High stability and quality of connections
Uncomplicated site-integration
40% lower network expenses

The task

The TISA AG used a Swisscom MPLS solution with managed services for the integration of five company sites into their centralized ICT infrastructure. The Internet connection was built up with ADSL routers with an ISDN backup-line. Yet, the line stability was not satisfying; hence the company scanned the market for alternative VPN solutions. As with the existing MPLS concept, the company should be able to build up in-house knowledge for installing and administrating for the new technology. The most important precondition for this purpose: the hardware should be easily configurable to ensure faultless and steady operation. At the same time, the system should meet all company VPN requirements: security, stability, and speed.

Implementation

Parallel to the running MPLS system, the reorganization began on four sites. After the respective sites had been equipped with the required Internet lines, they were consecutively connected with the headquarter in Widnau. The integration of the first two sites was supported by Viprinet partner grasgruen.it; the two following sites were then already implemented by TISA AG administrators independently. After a few weeks of testing and evaluating, it was time for going-live. Following another short period, the former MPLS system was shut down and removed. Only eight weeks after the launch, the implementation was finished. The network was then extended by one more site a few months later. This task was fully accomplished by TISA’s own systems engineers within only three weeks.

Result

The use of Viprinet routers brought more stability to the TISA AG network. At the same time, the quality of lines has improved considerably. The company`s engineers are now able to even fix operational faults by themselves and to integrate new sites into the network routinely and with little effort. Moreover, the side effect of lowering monthly Internet expenses by 40% should not be underestimated. The company is higly pleased with the possibility to employ any kind of available Internet connection due to the router’s modular design. This provides unlimited choice of company sites on the part of ICT infrastructure requirements.

Partners involved

grasgruen.it

Vesenweg 5
6850 Dornbirn, Austria
www.grasgruen.it

Customer Opinion

Using Viprinet routers, we were able to operate a more stable network and to improve the quality of our connection. We are now in a position to fix operational faults by ourselves. Moreover, the integration of new company sites can be handled routinely and without any difficulties.

Dipl. Ing. Markus Schrott, MBA

TISA Spedition AG