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EdgeConneX > Case Studies > Comcast Business: Driving Revenue Growth with AWS Direct Connect at the Edge

Comcast Business: Driving Revenue Growth with AWS Direct Connect at the Edge

Technology Category

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Public Cloud
Networks & Connectivity - Ethernet

Applicable Industries

Buildings
Telecommunications

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation

Use Cases

Autonomous Transport Systems
Vehicle-to-Infrastructure

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
System Integration

The Challenge

Comcast Business, a division of Comcast, was looking for ways to modernize the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system of one of their enterprise customers, a local building supply company. The customer was seeking a new IT solution to upgrade their ERP system. Keeping all functions on-premises would require a complete rebuild of their existing data center, leading to a significant capital cost burden and ongoing expenses to scale over time. This option was not ideal, so alternatives were explored. Public cloud solutions available through AWS were the best fit, but accessing these services via their existing public internet was slow and did not meet the network latency thresholds needed for their new desired architecture. Ongoing operating costs were also a concern, so a scalable, cost-effective solution was needed.

The Customer

A building supply company and Comcast Business

About The Customer

The customer in this case study is a local building supply company, an enterprise customer of Comcast Business. They were in need of a new IT solution to upgrade and modernize their ERP system. The company was considering a full rebuild of their existing data center, but this would have resulted in a large capital cost burden and ongoing expenses to scale over time. They were looking for a solution that was scalable, cost-effective, and could meet the network latency thresholds needed for their new desired architecture. The company was open to incorporating public cloud solutions available through AWS, but accessing these services via their existing public internet was slow and did not meet their needs.

The Solution

Comcast Business solved the AWS connectivity challenges by incorporating the local AWS Direct Connect cloud on-ramp into their overall network design for their end customer. By leveraging the local cloud on-ramp in the EdgeConneX Edge Data Center, the enterprise customer was able to take advantage of the key benefits of direct cloud connectivity offered by AWS Direct Connect. These benefits included improved network performance, increased security compared to public internet, and an overall reduction in cloud access costs. The solution also incorporated other key benefits from the various products and services offered on the AWS cloud platform. EdgeConneX worked closely with Comcast Business to ensure the benefits of localized cloud access solutions were well understood and could be easily incorporated into their end-to-end product bundles.

Operational Impact

The solution implemented by Comcast Business not only improved the end customer’s network performance and reduced latency, but it also resulted in a reduced net operating cost. This made Comcast Business the trusted advisor for network services for this customer. The availability of the AWS Direct Connect on-ramp in the EdgeConneX Edge Data Center became a key tool for driving new incremental revenue growth for Comcast Business. The solution also increased security compared to using the public internet. The customer was able to take advantage of the pricing benefits for data egress fees when using AWS Direct Connect versus accessing those same services through the public Internet. This case study demonstrates the potential of leveraging localized cloud access solutions to drive revenue growth and improve customer satisfaction.

Quantitative Benefit