In the fast-paced and customer-centric world of the automotive industry, customer satisfaction is the fuel that keeps the engine running. Car dealerships, whether selling or repairing vehicles, rely on uninterrupted services to build and maintain high levels of customer confidence. In this digital age, where every transaction is tech-driven, having a robust and efficient network infrastructure becomes imperative.
The Need for Speed & Reliability
Operating with a sluggish, complex, and unreliable wide area network (WAN) structure can significantly hinder performance, ultimately impacting customer satisfaction. The answer to this challenge lies in adopting a secure and reliable platform, and Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) emerges as the near-perfect solution.
A car dealership's success hinges on a network that seamlessly connects employees, customers, and business partners. Simultaneously, it must ensure that key applications crucial for daily operations run smoothly. These applications may include inventory management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, fleet maintenance systems, and auto repair management software.
Traditionally, many dealerships have relied on in-house systems, such as AS/400 servers running local instances of critical applications like Dealership Management Software (DMS) and Microsoft Exchange servers. However, these systems were not only expensive but also complicated to maintain. Many dealerships couldn't afford to have them at every location, leading to connectivity challenges.
The Cloud-Based Revolution
Modern car dealerships are increasingly transitioning to cloud-based technologies, seeking ways to leverage the cost savings and flexibility of the cloud without compromising the reliability of their legacy systems. Cloud-based versions of critical applications offer significant advantages, especially for dealership groups with multiple locations.
Consider a scenario where a dealership group operates multiple dealerships across different campuses. Traditionally, these groups had centralized servers, and all locations connected back to one primary DMS server at a larger facility. This setup necessitated costly MPLS connections between locations, and any disruption at the primary location affected all dealerships.
By embracing cloud-based solutions, these dealerships experience a dual victory. Firstly, they save time and money by eliminating the need for internal hardware management and infrastructure. Secondly, their business operations are no longer dependent on an aging server managed by an understaffed IT department.
Benefits of Switching to Nepean Networks SD-WAN
Nepean allows a car dealership to sell cars while the network is handled by connectivity experts.
1. Network Uptime & Agility
Nepean's SD-WAN cloud-delivered and software-based approach ensures network uptime and agility. It simplifies deployment, adapts quickly to changing needs, and routes traffic to servers via the fastest connection. This flexibility is crucial for adapting to business changes, adding access to cloud-based services, and establishing new branches or remote offices.
2. Antares portal for a modern connectivity dashboard
Nepean provides a centralized management system known as Antares that monitors all network activities. It enables real-time analytics, reporting, and automatic push configurations to each network node. This centralized control allows quick issue identification and remote remediation, enhancing overall network efficiency.
3. Ease of Deployment
Scalability is a key feature of Nepean's SD-WAN, offering continuous maintenance, embedded advanced traffic analytics, redundancy, and monitoring services. This eliminates concerns about complexity, cost, and speed associated with expanding legacy networks.
4. Cost-Effectiveness
Nepean's SD-WAN delivers significant cost savings by leveraging lower-cost connectivity sources such as broadband, reducing problem identification and remediation costs such as those associated with long term contracts for connectivity. Dealerships can choose individual local providers of broadband for each location, reducing upfront investment costs and ongoing maintenance fees.
Wrapping up, Nepean's SD-WAN is steering car dealerships toward a future of enhanced connectivity, streamlined operations, and improved customer satisfaction. By embracing this technology, dealers can focus on accelerating sales, confident in the knowledge that their network infrastructure is not just reliable but optimized for success.
Ronald Bartels ensures that Internet inhabiting things are connected reliably online at Nepean Networks - the leading specialized Last Mile SD-WAN provider in South Africa. Learn more about the best SD-WAN in the world: 👉Contact Nepean
