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The ACV needed more bandwidth and more extensive service. That is why all of the sub-organizations made the switch to Belgacom Explore. The ACV monitors use of the network through the Explore Application Performance Management (APM) service based on Ipanema - thus ensuring maximum returns on the available capacity.

The ACV operates over 150 service centers. In addition to these, there are 150 contact points open to members during certain hours. The ACV has organized its major information technology applications centrally. This includes the applications for the payment of unemployment benefits, managing membership and membership dues, handling complaints, payment of trade union bonuses, bookkeeping… all of which are run at the ACV datacenter in Schaarbeek. Elsewhere in Brussels the trade union has a second datacenter that functions as recovery site. Via the network, the employees of the ACV - working from some 300 different sites - can access the applications that they need. One of the most demanding applications on the network is IP-telephony and the associated contact centers. Up until recently, the traffic for the ACV was run over Belgacom’s BiLAN-network but in order to meet the need for more bandwidth and extra service, the ACV opted for Belgacom Explore.

Adjusting bandwidth

“The growth of the network is the result of a number of factors,” explains Johan Vandewalle, Deputy IT-manager at the ACV. “That includes the evolution from mainframe to .net-applications, which means that we need greater bandwidth. At the same time, the use of both the Internet and the intranet continues to grow.” All of this means that, more than ever, the ACV needs a stable network with flexible capacity. “Via Explore, the smaller offices can now use high-quality IP telephony. Moreover, Explore makes it possible to quickly adjust the network capacity without a major intervention. It was important for us to be able to rely on a future-proof solution.” At the same time, via Explore, the ACV can easily adjust the bandwidth to the needs at the different sites. Thus, the main office has a 200 Mbit connection while the head offices and major service centers are all provided with 10 and 8 Mbit.

Tracking down excessive use

In order to gain insight into the real use of the network, the ACV chose the monitoring solution from Ipanema, which is offered by Belgacom as a managed service. Johan Vandewalle: “Actually, we regard the entire network as a service for which we can rely on Belgacom,” explains Johan Vandewalle. “We think of monitoring the network- and the associated reporting - as a supplementary service.” At 40 locations, Belgacom installed physical Ipanema-appliances. At the other sites, the monitoring is performed via a virtual solution. “Thanks to the Explore Application Performance Management (Ipanema) we have a clear insight into the real bandwidth needs at each location. This solution also gives us information on the way in which our software interacts with the network. This allows us to instantly detect excessive use of bandwidth, which may indicate a software error, for example. Historical information is also retained, so that past evolution and errors can be analyzed!” Ipanema’s acceleration functionality, in turn, makes compression possible: this means that we can run more traffic over our network without having to invest in additional bandwidth. In that regard, the ACV has already completed a successful initial trial run.

Company Profile

The ACV (Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond or General Christian Trade Union) is the largest trade union association in Belgium. It has 1.6 million members. The ACV has a workforce of 3,300.

Benefits

Belgacom Explore offers the ACV a high-performance, secure and flexible platform for the network connectivity for 300 sites. Explore offers features such as higher quality IP-telephony. Through the monitoring solution “Explore Application Performance Management” based on Ipanema, the ACV is able to monitor the actual utilization of the network. That allows proactive capacity management and more efficient cost control.

De Lijn: a company on the move with a flexible network

The Flemish public transport company De Lijn has approximately one hundred sites that are connected to Belgacom Explore. Some 2,000 employees of De Lijn use this network. Explore is replacing the leased lines that De Lijn used previously. “We are a company on the move,” declares Bert Van Hemelen, IT-manager at De Lijn. “We need to be able to quickly add new sites to the network and adjust their bandwidth. With Explore, that’s possible.” De Lijn has centralized all of its applications - primarily those for internal use, but also those for partners and consumers- in their own datacenter. These are utilized via Explore. “Naturally, that significantly increased the importance of the network,” explains Bert Van Hemelen. For the monitoring of the network, De Lijn relies on Ipanema, which is offered by Belgacom as a managed service. “Via the reports generated by Ipanema we can get a detailed view of the network and the applications. This information makes it possible to provide the right instructions to Belgacom, for example, so that they can adjust the bandwidth in the right places.”

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