C A S E S T U DY | G L O B A L R E TA I L E R

Global Retailer Case Study
Multicloud; multi-tenant; single-stack; simplification
INDUSTRYCompany ProfileRetail

One of the top global retailers in the world operates over 600 store locations asCHALLENGES• A lean and consolidated IT stack inevery store• Simplify the IT hardware andsoftware footprint in store locations• Integrated network services—routing, switching, security, micro
data center, WiFi—on a uCPE
• Streamline network manageability• VM-based environment, hosted ona uCPE platform• Provide network services as well as
Windows services to eliminate theneed for additional server hardwarein each store• Consolidate security and network
services and phases out dedicatedsingle-purpose security devices• Multicloud integration connecting
to multiple cloud providers’infrastructure

RESULTSwell as multiple other corporate sites such as offices and factories. The company
employs over 100,000 people and operates world-wide in four global regions.

Challenges
One major driving force for the company is to have, as much as possible,
a “lean and consolidated IT stack” in every store. This along other drivers
motivated the company to deploy SD-WAN infrastructure to:• Simplify the IT hardware and software footprint in store locations:Integrated network services—routing, switching, security, micro data center,WiFi—on a uCPE (universal Customer Premises Equipment) platform toprovide a much slimmer solution than the legacy infrastructure.
• Streamline network manageability: : The company envisions a VM-basedenvironment, hosted on a uCPE platform, to provide network services
as well as Windows services to eliminate the need for additional server
hardware in each store. Consolidating security and network services
simplifies multi-vendor management, and phases out dedicated singlepurpose security devices.
• Multicloud integration: Simplify, and automate, the network design andprovisioning of connecting to multiple cloud providers’ infrastructure.

Solution Highlights: Versa Secure SD-WAN
The Versa integrated software stack provides all networking services—with specific focus on embedded security—in a single software stack thatsignificantly reduces the in-store footprint, the number of devices in thenetwork, and the range of vendors and software images to be managed• Cost savingsand tracked.

• Automation

The Versa SD-WAN deployed by the company has the following salient• Flexibility

characteristics:• Multi-cloud simplicity• Analytics support for management• Service provider integration• Regional hub-and-spoke design: The network spans four geographic
regions: two in the EU, and one each in APAC and the Americas. Eachregion is designed in a hub-and-spoke topology, with inter-region
communication via the hubs. Versa’s advanced routing stack wasinstrumental in crafting the fine-grained routing policies necessary to
implement this topology.
• Mitigating poor quality links: The APAC region uses several lossy andoverly congested internet links. Versa’s traffic conditioning capabilities,
such as Forward Error Correction (FEC), enable usable real-time voice
and video traffic over these links.

C A S E S T U DY | G L O B A L R E TA I L E R• Multi-tenancy: The corporate part of the company offers provider-like SDWAN services to various entities within
the group such as stores, offices, and factories. The multi-tenant design allows the company to separate and secure
each entity’s network from the others.
• HA: Store locations are provisioned with dual HA links, using a combination of MPLS and broadband internet links,
with LTE as cold-standby backup connectivity.
• Multi-cloud networking: All cloud workloads connect via the Versa SD-WAN fabric, simplifying the network design
by eliminating the need for expensive private connections to cloud providers or IPSec backhaul configurations fromindividual sites. Azure public VNETs are connected to the Versa SDWAN fabric using Azure vWAN, and AWS Transit
Gateway connects AWS VPCs.
• Simplified management: The Versa stack runs on a uCPE platform, sharing a VM environment running Windowsbased store services such as printing. This simplifies network management by avoiding a separate server device perlocation. The built-in security in the Versa solution obviates the need for a separate security device or vendor.
Key drivers in the company’s decision to implement a Versa Secure SD-WAN include:• Demonstrated technical prowess and a strong routing stack• An advanced traffic steering engine• Multi-cloud automation• Powerful analytics• Feature-rich orchestration platform
The company also evaluated a Cisco Viptela solution.

Results
The company realized the following benefits from their Versa SD-WAN choice:• Cost savings: Less dependence on MPLS technology to connect their sites.
• Automation: Using the Versa framework with templates and APIs reduced operation and management overhead.
• Flexibility: Multi-tenancy allows each individual entity within the corporation to securely build, operate and manage
its own network and services.
• Multi-cloud simplicity: Each cloud deployment seamlessly connects into the Versa SDWAN network fabric.
• Analytics support for management: Versa Analytics provides powerful insights into network capacity planning,analysis and significantly simplifies troubleshooting of network problems. the company’s AI engine collects andprocesses data from Versa Analytics.
• Service provider integration: Versa’s close integration with providers resulted in the company benefiting from thebest of both worlds. For example, the ability to deploy and manage sites on a global scale using Verizon capabilities
coupled with Versa technology.

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