Leading Digital Innovator on the Microsoft Ecosystem Uses Aruba Wireless, Security and Management Solutions to Optimize Space, Improve Productivity, and Deliver Exceptional Employee Experiences
Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company (NYSE: HPE), today announced
that Avanade, the leading digital innovator on the Microsoft ecosystem,
has outfitted its new, 67,000 square feet Seattle, Washington office
with an Aruba mobile-first network. Aruba’s wireless, security and
management solutions, will help Avanade optimize its real-estate and
space usage to cut costs, improve productivity, and deliver a better
user experience for approximately 800 employees in the new building, as
well as those located in the company’s 45 other locations.
In reviewing its key requirements for a new digital workplace that could
provide mobile-first flexibility and open collaboration, Avanade turned
to Aruba, due to Aruba’s strong partnership with Microsoft, as well as
the breadth and strength of the Aruba solutions.
“We want to embrace the future of work and the Aruba infrastructure
enables the mobility and performance that will allow us to do that,”
said Joseph Paradi, Enterprise Services Executive at Avanade. “Our goal
is to be 100% wireless, delivering a service that can fully support
users’ Skype and Teams collaboration needs.”
To that end, Avanade deployed Aruba wireless infrastructure across all
three floors of its new office, Aruba AirWave for network management,
and Aruba ClearPass for wired and wireless Network Access Control and
guest access. The company is using ArubaOS 8, which enables Live
Upgrades, seamless failover and RF management features, with Mobility
Masters in each of its data centers to enable an easy migration for all
45 Avanade offices.
The company’s IT team was particularly impressed with Aruba’s Adaptive
Radio Management (ARM) which addresses interference issues that can
occur with the multiple mobile devices each employee typically uses.
“We have a dense environment with many laptops, tablets, smartphones and
other mobile devices,” noted Doug McKinney, Avanade Network Architect
and Group Manager. “The ARM capabilities help us manage all of these
devices automatically to ensure great performance for all of our users
and each device.”
He added, “We have no network ports or cables at our desks, nor do we
have assigned desks or offices. With the Aruba infrastructure, our
employees are truly a mobile workforce with the flexibility to conduct
their audio and video calls from wherever they are located.”
With the Aruba network in place, Avanade can provide true hot-desking
for employees, allowing them to reserve desks, offices and conference
rooms through a mobile app. All desks are ergonomic and can be adjusted
to meet each employees’ specific needs. Each desk space is equipped with
a 34-inch widescreen monitor and cable for both HDMI and Mini
DisplayPort, accommodating the variety of workstations employees use.
Noted Avanade Network Program Manager, Greg Paskett, “All of our meeting
rooms are set up as Surface hubs or Skype or Microsoft Teams rooms,
making videoconferencing, screen sharing and white boarding simple and
seamless. The Aruba infrastructure ensures reliable, high-quality audio
and video performance.”
Avanade is also making good use of Aruba ClearPass for guest access.
Avanade employees can visit a website to register guests and when the
guests arrive, they can just enter their email address to automatically
receive Wi-Fi access for the day.
ClearPass also allows Avanade to accommodate its innovation team – a
group that gathers a variety of products from different vendors and
connects them to the network to test them – without compromising the
corporate network’s security.
“We get requests constantly and there’s no way we’re just connecting
these headless devices to the corporate network,” Paradi said. “But with
ClearPass, we can put in place a self-service management app that
leverages APIs to create a more automated workflow for approving and
granting access for these new devices, and allows requestors to renew
their access say, every six months. We can manage and obtain reporting
on all devices and ensure a secure, segmented network.”
Paradi notes that ClearPass will also help Avanade expand its IoT usage.
As the company adds more wireless IoT to the network, ClearPass will
help it identify and ensure the secure onboarding of new devices.
The Seattle office deployment has been a success and will enable Avanade
to extend the same network capabilities to the rest of the
organization’s sites easily. Aruba’s location-ready APs will allow
Avanade to add new capabilities such as location-based services to
enable indoor navigation through the company’s facilities and locate
colleagues within the facilities, using location sharing.
“We have Aruba beacons waiting to be deployed and once in place, we’ll
leverage Places, a mobile app developed using Aruba’s Meridian
platform,” Paradi explained. “Places will let us utilize our hot-desking
even further to enable quicker scheduling and will also allow
turn-by-turn directions to help employees, guests and visitors navigate
to meeting rooms, restrooms, the cafeteria and other locations when they
are in the building.”
For Avanade, the biggest benefit of its new network is the flexibility
it can offer users now that it has a reliable and seamless mobile-first
network. Said Paradi, “The new office space with the Aruba technology is
a big win for our employees. The flexibility they have to work wherever
they are translates into improved efficiencies and productivity for the
company, and a better work environment and experience for our users.”
About Avanade
Avanade is the leading provider of innovative digital and cloud
services, business solutions and design-led experiences delivered
through the power of people and the Microsoft ecosystem. Our
professionals bring bold, fresh thinking combined with technology,
business and industry expertise to help fuel transformation and growth
for our clients and their customers. Avanade has 35,000 digitally
connected people across 24 countries, bringing clients the best thinking
through a collaborative culture that honors diversity and reflects the
communities in which we operate. Majority owned by Accenture, Avanade
was founded in 2000 by Accenture LLP and Microsoft Corporation. Learn
more at www.avanade.com.
About Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company
Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, is a leading provider of
next-generation networking solutions for enterprises of all sizes
worldwide. The company delivers IT solutions that empower organizations
to serve the latest generation of mobile-savvy users who rely on
cloud-based business apps for every aspect of their work and personal
lives.
To learn more, visit Aruba at
http://www.arubanetworks.com
.
For real-time news updates follow Aruba on Twitter and Facebook,
and for the latest technical discussions on mobility and Aruba products
visit Airheads Social at
http://community.arubanetworks.com
.
Kathleen Keith
Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company
+1-707-529-4507
kathleen.keith@hpe.com
or
Sarah Goodwin
Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company
+1-650-236-7233
sarah.goodwin@hpe.com