[This is a sponsored article with Cisco Malaysia.]
Before the COVID-19 pandemic started, many companies already began questioning the usefulness of having a permanent office space for their employees. The mindset shift away from fixed physical offices was compounded by the rise of coworking spaces and an increased demand for a healthier work-life balance.
And the pandemic has only added fuel to that fire. In a survey conducted by Pew Research in America, 54% of their respondents would prefer to work remotely or working from home post-pandemic.
Coworking spaces come in as a middle ground, where teams can still have a hub for employees to meet and collaborate, without the need to upkeep an office. A coworking space also provides a more professional and private setting for client meetings if necessary, as opposed to working out of a cafe or house.
With increased flexibility, efficiency becomes more important whether the employee is working in an office, coworking space, or at home. However, tech issues such as shoddy office servers or connection issues invite a miserable working experience.
To ensure that their members don’t encounter connectivity issues, Common Ground, a coworking space operator with over 20 coworking spaces across ASEAN, made a strategic shift to enhance their networking infrastructure.
Creating A Secure, Fast & Reliable Network Infrastructure
The coworking space wanted to provide their members with a secure, high-speed, reliable and stable connection in every single corner of their venues.
An unstable network would pose an issue for the members, as they will not be able to access the files they needed whenever and this meant that Common Ground needed an optimal setup without running into downtime.
With Cisco, one of the largest networking solutions in the world, Common Ground was able to create an Always-on Network which is scalable and does not require a full IT team present physically in all their spaces to manage it.
By deploying Cisco Meraki, Common Ground managed to stay ahead of the curve, providing their members with improved networking performance.
The More You Know: Cisco Meraki provides a secure and intelligent platform that helps customers connect and automate to accelerate their digital agility in a cloud-first world. The Cisco Meraki Platform is the cloud networking foundation for the entire Meraki product portfolio.
It comprises cloud-first operations, open APIs, and a broad ecosystem of apps and technology partners. It is built with a modern cloud-native architecture that powers SD-Access (wireless, switching), SD-WAN/SASE (security, VPN, mobile gateway) and IoT (cameras, sensors) products and solutions.
When considering business resilience, companies need solutions that are efficient, stable, and well-equipped to handle their digital workplaces.
“Meraki was able to optimise our network and provide higher internet speeds to all our active members at the same time, even under heavy loads, at every corner of our premises,” said Yvonne Lee, the Head of Common Ground Malaysia.
Managing All Deployed Solutions Through A Single Dashboard
With Cisco Meraki’s comprehensive cloud-first platform that is simple, secure and intelligent, customers like Common Ground can easily employ and integrate new technologies that provide the best experience for their customers and employees.
Additionally, their IT teams can get an overview of the networks of multiple branches, instead of logging into different dashboards for different networks and rummaging through them to figure out any issues.
For example, an IT team in Malaysia can manage the setup of a new Cisco Meraki solution in Hong Kong, without needing to be there physically. An employee from any division who is present on-site can simply plug in the device and the IT team can install, configure, and deploy the solution remotely.
Through this quick deployment and management, you won’t need a full squad of IT personnel present at every location, which can help you save up on costs as well.
Steven Chong, the Chief Technology Officer of Common Ground said, “We now only need 1 person to deploy a network and it can be done remotely within minutes. Prior to Cisco Meraki, it used to take a few people to be on-site to achieve the same.”
Easy Check Up On The Health Of Your Solutions
Meraki Health is a tool that automatically analyses and monitors the health of all your deployed solutions.
For example, a Common Ground member might run into an issue with connecting their device to the network. The IT team can then check through Meraki Health to identify and fix the issue remotely.
Equipped with full visibility of all deployed solutions, your IT team is also capable of early detection of hardware failure, and it’ll prompt the IT personnel to perform the changes ASAP. Steven said that Cisco Meraki’s dashboard allows them to quickly pinpoint the source of the issue and take care of it in a few minutes, without dragging the whole network to a shutdown.
As the focus shifts to hybrid working conditions, cybersecurity is another major factor that digital workplaces need to take seriously. With important files and data now transferred virtually between employees or between servers, companies need to have the products with the proper security to back them up.
Cisco Meraki’s comprehensive and secure platform helps customers keep networks, spaces and devices secure, as your business and workplace shift to a hybrid model. With employees working remotely or in the office, it ensures that everyone has the predictable, safe and secure connectivity they need to maintain productivity.
- To know more about what Cisco Meraki offers to your company, click here.
- Talk to a Cisco representative here.
Featured Image Credit: Cisco Malaysia
