The real meaning of lean.

United Way is a lean operation, and not in the IT project sense. As a not-for-profit building thriving communities, United Way works to improve education, employment, health and housing in areas with an entrenched disadvantage.

With every donation being hard-won, CEO Clayton Noble has to spend it right. There’s no IT manager to call on, let alone an IT department. But lean doesn’t mean slow. They’re a modern company with offices around Australia, so it’s crucial that they have a strong and secure network so they can deliver on their services.

Like any busy business, an uninterrupted and stable connection is crucial for shared drives, VPN, finance software and banking – as well as space to grow into social media and communications technology. United Way wanted a partner who could help them stay at the front of the technology race, but who wouldn’t complicate it.

United Way have more important things to do than think about their network. They needed a solution that would keep things simple, adaptive and flexible. They expected something that delivered on a budget without compromising the quality or connectivity they already had.

When they explained what they needed, we developed a network solution based around Macquarie Telecom SD-WAN, which would provide faster bandwidth, less internet downtime and clear visibility of how their network was being used. Then we got on the ground in their offices, ready for any troubleshooting.

The upgrade was seamless. As Clayton tells us, “Ever since we’ve had the new system installed, we’ve had zero issues with speed and connectivity, and zero impact on our business. Everything that we need to do, we can get done efficiently.”

Macquarie Telecom SD-WAN has provided United Way with all the benefits they were looking for. Since the upgrade, they’ve seen zero instances of downtime, meaning they’re always up and always ready to service the communities that rely on them. A 28% speed boost – as well as the resilience of teaming two data services together via multipath – means a far lower risk of hard downtime.

United Way is a team that gets on with the job of creating real change. The SD-WAN solution hums along smoothly in the background, providing complete visibility of the network that traditional technology could never deliver.

Sometimes the projects that matter the most aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets. Supporting an organisation that works to improve education, employment, health and housing is something we can get behind.

At Macquarie Telecom, we provide solutions that let you get on with your business.