Putting wood behind the Arrow

"While the costs have reduced and we have also seen a massive increase in Internet and general connectivity speeds, and consequently, an increase in the happiness of our users," says Manie Keefe, MIS manager at AAD.

Originally, the company used a Diginet line for inter-branch connectivity from Johannesburg head office to the Durban and Cape Town offices. The two branches had wireless solutions for Internet. Head Office used ADSL mainly for Internet connectivity and a Diginet line for mail and VPN.

"The biggest problem was the speed and consistency of the connection. The users of the Syspro ERP system at the branches experienced very slow connections. The copying of big data files to the branches was laboriously slow, and to add insult to injury, these files had to be copied out of working hours due to the strain it placed on the network.

Some of our engineers at head office would actually use their home connections to download big updates from the Internet as the corporate connection would time out continuously. It quite simply wasnąt the ideal solution," adds Jacques Cloete, senior system administrator at AAD.

When Altech Technology Concepts first presented its solution, both Cloete and Keefe were sceptical. "It looked so good on paper. I just hoped it would turn out the same way in reality," says Cloete.

The implementation, while not without the mandatory teething problems, has been a success. The core of the solution is TC Channel Bonding, which combines multiple ADSL connections to create a single, virtual high-speed connection.

TC Channel Bonding can provide the equivalent of ten megabits per second (Mbps) Internet connectivity for as little as R3,500 per month ­ a fraction of the cost of an equivalent dedicated leased line service.

AAD now has TC Channel Bonding connecting both the branches to head office and then out to the Internet. "We are seeing a significant increase in speed on the ERP system at the branches. This is incredible. Data files that used to take up to half an hour to transfer are now moved within a few minutes," says Cloete.

The cost saving is derived from ADSL being a cheaper connectivity option than leased line and also because AAD only pays for the data it uses. "This means we needed a better way to control usage," says Keefe.

Altech Technology Concepts has provided Cloete and his team with a firewall and proxy server, which keeps track of data usage and provides daily reports to ensure that AAD has all the information it needs to control spending.

Deidre Dawson, GM of Altech Technology Concepts, says: "Our approach is always to first focus on the business requirements and then the technical requirements. A balance needs to be struck between designing a solution that works for the business and keep tabs on the costs, but ensuring that the business is not handicapped."

When discussing the migration and the working relationship with Altech Technology Concepts, Cloete and Keefe agree that the service provider's team made it all so easy for AAD.

"They take care of everything from managing Telkom to sorting out issues with our other providers. They work hard to find solutions and were always here, on the premises, when things were not working perfectly. It was the mutual commitment from both Altech Technology concepts and ourselves that has made this project so successful," says Keefe.

AAD will be procuring a number of other solutions from Altech Technology Concepts starting with its web site development, hosting and offsite backup offerings in early 2010.

"Now that connectivity is no longer an issue, we can cement our disaster recovery strategy so that stability is not limited to Internet, but to the entire business," says Keefe.

"Arrow Altech Distribution is a prime example where Altech Technology Concepts has partnered with a client with a better solution at a better price. This underpins one of our core philosophies, which is to ensure all our solutions provide the client with true value," concludes Dawson.