A Wi-Fi upgrade has transformed Arun District Council’s working environment and seen them achieve the highest audit standard.
Arun District Council, on the south coast of the UK, serves a population of over 160,000 residents and local businesses.
Arun Civic Centre in Littlehampton is the heart of the council service delivery. It provides desk space for up to 300 employees, a council chamber for 54 councillors plus Officers, and a reception and meeting areas for the public.
Arun District Council’s wired network solution, designed for fixed workstations, was simply not fit for post-pandemic hybrid working. It was also struggling to deliver dependable Wi-Fi to the level that users expect these days.
The building had dark areas where Wi-Fi was patchy. Employee access depended on fixed ports, preventing fluid working and roaming. Public internet access was limited to specific areas. Office reconfiguration options were constrained, time-consuming and costly. Back-office IT management was complicated.
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Ideal carried out a full Wi-Fi survey to define how the current network was performing and to understand traffic, usage and devices. Ideal then designed a new network built with Cisco Meraki Wi-Fi technology.
The network is configured with three separate SSIDs. The first gives full access to in-house systems and apps for employees on council owned laptops. The second gives councillors and employees on council approved mobile devices access to Wi-Fi only. The third gives the public access to Wi-Fi via a simple data capture splash page.
Once installed, Ideal carried out a post-deployment survey. This ratifies the design, enables fine-tuning of configurations and confirms that all objectives have been met. Regular aftercare performance checks ensure the network stays on-track.
“Ideal engineers have a great depth of knowledge. We trust them to find the right solution with good value. Communications and deployment are excellent. It’s a long-term relationship we really value.”
ICT and Digital Manager, Arun District Council
Nigel Quinlan, ICT and Digital Manager, says the results have been transformational:
“Employees can now just arrive and start work from anywhere. They can maintain connections as they walk from desks to meeting rooms and we have hassle-free operation on even the busiest days. The council chamber is well-served and the public has better access than ever.
“It’s simple to manage the back-end through a single portal. Faults or issues (which are rare) are reported with a specific location. We can view traffic, devices and public logins at any point, and we can tailor dashboards, reports and notifications. A recent service move for 60 employees was a breeze because we don’t need to re-wire anything.
“We recently invited an internal audit to assess the governance, processes and technology used in the new network and received the top assurance rating of ‘Substantial’. In the public sector, that’s like hens’ teeth – I’m really proud of that.”
Since deployment, Ideal have subsequently advised on enhanced security options, specifically around BYOD and managed mobile devices.
We designed implemented and support the core network for the City’s highest office block.
EMEA UK & Ireland Winner.
“Having 24/7/365 Managed Services based in our offices makes for a cohesive response when it matters most for the customer.”