Connecting Microbusinesses to Drive Greater Growth and Social Impact

Zyxel_May · July 30

Microfinance Foundation

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Overview

When the community-focused microfinance foundation in the Philippines expanded its operations nationwide, its legacy network infrastructure struggled to keep pace. Faced with slow speeds, unreliable connectivity, complex branch management, and costly license renewal fees, the organization sought a scalable, centralized solution. Powered by Zyxel Networks’ Nebula cloud platform, the network was seamlessly deployed across more than one hundred sites. Leveraging Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP), the rollout was completed in as little as two weeks and no more than four. Nebula’s centralized management reduced troubleshooting time by 80%. Smart surveillance switches ensured reliable CCTV performance with auto camera recovery, while secondary WAN modules and secure cloud gateways enhanced redundancy and security. The result: consistent, secure performance and full network visibility, all efficiently managed from a single interface.

Challenges

The microfinance foundation’s existing network infrastructure struggled to keep up as its operations expanded nationwide. This expansion revealed critical bottlenecks in centralized connectivity, troubleshooting of the CCTV system, and network speed. The network suffered from slow speeds and occasional outages, disrupting daily operations. Furthermore, managing a dispersed network across numerous sites introduced significant complexity. Adding to these challenges were the high costs associated with renewing licenses from the existing supplier. The foundation required a scalable and flexible solution that could deliver reliable, consistent performance across all locations while being managed from a single platform.

Solutions

To support its nationwide expansion, the foundation adopted Zyxel Networks’ Nebula cloud networking solution, designed to deliver secure, reliable connectivity and full network visibility across one hundred forty-four branches. All devices are centrally managed via the Nebula cloud networking solution, enabling it to efficiently monitor and maintain its distributed network from a single interface.

The Admin Accounts per Organization feature allows full administrative access to be easily assigned to multiple users, streamlining network control. This cloud-based setup ensures scalable and consistent connectivity across all locations. To enhance wireless coverage, one hundred forty-four WAC500 access points were deployed, supporting multiple SSIDs and customized captive portals for fast, stable, and segmented WiFi. Meanwhile, SFP1000-T modules added secondary WAN connections, improving redundancy and minimizing downtime.

In addition, nineteen GS1350-6HP and one hundred twenty-five GS1350-12HP smart surveillance switches were installed to ensure smooth operation of the surveillance system. These switches feature intuitive management through a web UI, support PoE camera monitoring at a glance, and include auto camera recovery to detect and restore failed IP cameras. Nebula’s Switch Surveillance Feature Set includes advanced functions such as Monitoring, Extended Range, and Auto PD Recovery, simplifying troubleshooting and integration while ensuring smooth CCTV operations.

Finally, branch offices are secured with one hundred forty-four cloud security gateways running Nebula’s Advanced Firewall VPN Feature Set, offering features like firewall protection, VLAN segmentation, DHCP, and policy enforcement. This enables secure, centralized connectivity while eliminating the high license renewal costs associated with previous vendors.

Results

The foundation completed the network deployment across all its sites within the project time frame by using Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP) for pre-configuration. This rapid rollout eliminated the need for manual setup and on-site unboxing, accelerating deployment. With Nebula, network management became simple and centralized across all branches. The network achieved full WiFi coverage, ensuring reliable and seamless connectivity at every location. Thanks to Nebula’s centralized management, it saw an 80% reduction in configuration and troubleshooting time. Additionally, the new solution cut maintenance and connectivity costs by half.

Fast deployment across over 100 sites within four weeks without on-site setup
80% reduction in troubleshooting and configuration time with Nebula cloud networking management
50% lower maintenance and connectivity costs
Secure cross-site connectivity with easy AutoVPN setup and streamlined site management
Reliable CCTV monitoring and operations with smart surveillance switches

Products used

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