Download PDF
First Southwest Bank Lays Foundation for Growth with CenturyLink
Technology Category
- Networks & Connectivity - Network Management & Analysis Software
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
Use Cases
- Cybersecurity
- Remote Asset Management
Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
First Southwest Bank, a regional Colorado bank, was facing a challenge with its existing network. The bank's network was unable to keep up with their business growth, leading to constraints and impeding employees' ability to complete transactions. The network latency among a patchwork of various providers had already impacted customer service and the bank was prepared to expand its reach. The network performance also constrained the development of new programs for loans or online banking tools. The bank's own IT operation was affected by the poor network performance. The failover site for disaster recovery was located closer to the main data center site than they wanted, posing a risk in case of a natural disaster.
About The Customer
First Southwest Bank is a $250 million bank with 7 branches stretched across 300 miles in southern Colorado. The bank's branches are located in diverse landscapes, from high desert to valleys to the southernmost peaks of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Some of the bank’s branches are in remote areas as the bank specializes in agriculture loans to farms and ranches along with small businesses. The bank has been growing and is open to further growth by acquiring other branches or institutions.
The Solution
First Southwest Bank worked with CenturyLink to implement CenturyLink IQ MPLS Network Solution among its branches and headquarters in Alamosa. The CenturyLink solution had the bandwidth and coverage to replace the multiple vendors the bank used previously. MPLS provides the bandwidth for diverse networking needs. It establishes a secure Virtual Private Network for both voice and data transmission. CenturyLink IQ also makes it easy to add circuits to accommodate the bank’s future growth. The bank also benefited from the fact that CenturyLink’s network infrastructure covered the bank’s entire region with fiber connections boosting available bandwidth considerably – even for the rural branches. The MPLS upgraded network speeds from 1.5Mbps to 10Mbps. The bank can increase its bandwidth needs as they need to because the MPLS solution is scalable.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
Related Case Studies.
.png)
Case Study
Improving Vending Machine Profitability with the Internet of Things (IoT)
The vending industry is undergoing a sea change, taking advantage of new technologies to go beyond just delivering snacks to creating a new retail location. Intelligent vending machines can be found in many public locations as well as company facilities, selling different types of goods and services, including even computer accessories, gold bars, tickets, and office supplies. With increasing sophistication, they may also provide time- and location-based data pertaining to sales, inventory, and customer preferences. But at the end of the day, vending machine operators know greater profitability is driven by higher sales and lower operating costs.
Case Study
Remote Wellhead Monitoring
Each wellhead was equipped with various sensors and meters that needed to be monitored and controlled from a central HMI, often miles away from the assets in the field. Redundant solar and wind generators were installed at each wellhead to support the electrical needs of the pumpstations, temperature meters, cameras, and cellular modules. In addition to asset management and remote control capabilities, data logging for remote surveillance and alarm notifications was a key demand from the customer. Terra Ferma’s solution needed to be power efficient, reliable, and capable of supporting high-bandwidth data-feeds. They needed a multi-link cellular connection to a central server that sustained reliable and redundant monitoring and control of flow meters, temperature sensors, power supply, and event-logging; including video and image files. This open-standard network needed to interface with the existing SCADA and proprietary network management software.
Case Study
Marine and Industrial Displays by Caterpillar
Caterpillar needed a flexible platform for a new generation of connected human-machine interfaces across a wide variety of industrial environments. Examples include marine, petroleum pumping, generators, custom hydraulics, mining, and rail applications.
Case Study
Driving Digital Transformations for Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices
Diagnostic devices play a vital role in helping to improve healthcare delivery. In fact, an estimated 60 percent of the world’s medical decisions are made with support from in vitrodiagnostics (IVD) solutions, such as those provided by Roche Diagnostics, an industry leader. As the demand for medical diagnostic services grows rapidly in hospitals and clinics across China, so does the market for IVD solutions. In addition, the typically high cost of these diagnostic devices means that comprehensive post-sales services are needed. Wanteed to improve three portions of thr IVD:1. Remotely monitor and manage IVD devices as fixed assets.2. Optimizing device availability with predictive maintenance.3. Recommending the best IVD solution for a customer’s needs.
