Why manage a network when you don’t have to? Lunar Energy’s leap to a modern NaaS

The Challenge

Lunar Energy experienced rapid growth, so much so that it found itself in need of a new campus. However, without a network engineer on staff, IT was challenged to roll out a network in the time allotted. The traditional labor-intensive, time-consuming way of deploying a network was not an option. The pressing questions:

• How to deploy a network without an in-house network engineer?
• Can a NaaS solution help with deployment and Day 2-N concerns?
• How to exceed the demands of both users and manufacturing IoT?

The Solution

The team at Lunar decided it was time to try something different. Nile was brought in to help accelerate getting the new network up and running.  While the team at Lunar managed the process, Nile cared for the network deployment details, from site survey, ordering, procurement and expert installation. Ongoing monitoring and operation of the network is also built into the service.

The AI-enabled secure NaaS at Lunar supports more than the typical IoT devices, like smart thermostats, security cameras and badge readers. Lunar houses an innovative hybrid office/manufacturing facility. Data from the hundreds of battery tests performed in the facility every hour is transmitted over the Nile network quickly and efficiently, with amazing results.

• The Nile end-to-end deployment and hand-off just worked seamlessly
• The service was installed in one day, without a dedicated Lunar engineer required
• Users instantly experienced a performance boost, eliminating bandwidth issues for the manufacturing, design and 3D work by heavy users

And, the high-performance network was determined to easily support the AI, AR and VR applications being added.

The Outcomes

Lunar Energy IT simply did not have the time or resources to do networking the old-fashioned way: plan a network, build a network, manage a network. The gamble on a new way of networking with Nile paid off in ways that were surprising. Ultimately, Nile took the repeatable tasks off of IT’s plate, allowing them to focus on creating a competitive advantage for the company.

• Immediate operational and IT resource cost savings were used to fund strategic IT initiatives
• Always-on connectivity, and guaranteed capacity eliminated trouble tickets tied to heavy traffic users, data-intensive manufacturing applications
• New built-in Zero Trust isolation guards against social engineering, malware and tampering
• New OpEx model eliminates pricing complexity, uncertainty and the traditional CapEx budget spikes

Offloading the operational burden

Traditional network deployments are complex and incredibly time consuming, and Alex Derafshan, head of the Lunar IT organization, had no interest in going down that road again.

“For the past 30 years running enterprise IT, I’ve built many networks,” he recalls. “The pre-process alone is so tedious, I’ve had bake offs across the major vendors that have taken nine months.”

The site survey is also a big hurdle in Derafshan’s opinion, and he was impressed by how thorough Nile’s was, crediting it with laying the foundation for future troubleshooting. The Digital Twin that was built off of the proposed design was impressive as Lunar immediately had a performance baseline to work off of.

Putting together the Bill of Materials (BoM) is also a daunting task, one that Derafshan happily handed over to Nile. Again, Nile AI pieced together all of the required pieces in a matter of minutes.

“There are so many choices when it comes to the BoM when buying from traditional vendors, even when the specs match,” he says. “Nile just came in and did the design, easily taking care of something that is so complex.”

Save money, sleep better at night

“I worked for one major network vendor and I’ve deployed other lean IT solutions, but I’ve never found a solution as simple and smooth as Nile,” says Derafshan.

Not only did Nile enable the installation of Lunar Energy’s network without a network engineer on staff, but moving forward, Derafshan has no plans to hire one for ongoing management. This saves the company money that can be used for business-critical Lunar Energy priorities. Nile’s pricing model is also simple: a service subscription with nothing else to think about.

But for Derafshan, it goes beyond cost.

“Our decision to go with Nile wasn’t just about the money, it was about peace of mind,” he says.

“What impressed me is that Nile built their high-end hardware and software from the ground up to deliver the network as-a-service,” says Derafshan. “They also have sensors that monitor the service and let me know if users have problems before they even experience any problems.”

So, how can Derafshan be sure that Nile is living up to its performance-based guarantees? He can simply check the Nile Customer Portal, but really, he relies on his everyday experiences and thus of his user community.

“I never get complaints about not being able to connect or that videoconferencing isn’t working,” he says.

Trust no one

Security is one of the most compelling reasons Derafshan chose Nile. In the past, he had suffered through the cost and inconvenience of network access control (NAC), so Nile’s Zero Trust Fabric with built-in isolation was a breath of fresh air. Once everyone authenticates on the network, complete isolation guards against social engineering intrusion. It also prevents the spread of malware, while the physical design of the network elements prevents tampering.

“I am immediately notified when someone tries to access the network and I have to give approval,” he explains. “With Nile’s per-device isolation, I know our network is protected for both wired and wireless connections.”

“I worked for one major network vendor, and I've deployed other lean IT solutions, but I’ve never found a solution as simple and smooth as Nile.”

– Alex Derafshan, Infrastructure and Cloud Architect, Lunar Energy

“Our decision to go with Nile wasn’t just about the money, it was about peace of mind.”

– Alex Derafshan, Infrastructure and Cloud Architect, Lunar Energy