The long-term relationship between managed network provider Securus Communications and Neos Networks has developed into a strategic partnership that has now seen McArthurGlen, one of Europe’s premier developers of designer fashion outlets, deploy a bespoke software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) and network access control (NAC) solution to McArthurGlen across nine sites, underpinned by dual gigabit RO2 circuits.
Founded in Europe by the Kaempfer Partners in 1993, McArthurGlen claims to be the leading owner, developer and manager of designer outlets in Europe, boasting an expanding portfolio comprising 25 centres close to major cities in eight countries across Europe and Canada. In 1995, the company opened Europe’s first designer outlet, Cheshire Oaks in the UK, around 30 minutes drive from the cities of Liverpool and Manchester.
In 2013, McArthurGlen became a joint venture between the Kaempfer Partners and Simon Property Group, a global provider in the ownership of premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations. It now owns 685,000m2 of retail space at 25 centres in eight countries, dealing with 90 million visitors every year. The company regards its mission as to shape the concept of destination shopping for its local communities and its international visitors.
To address the retailer’s network needs, Neos Networks and Securus Communications implemented a solution aimed to enhance the visibility, performance and security of its London-based IT team, deploying an SD-WAN and NAC solutions across McArthurGlen’s nine sites throughout the UK.
With dispersed locations across the UK, SD-WAN would allow the IT team to more easily deploy services across these locations to ensure consistent performance and security across the sites. Similarly, the granular network management provided by NAC would give the McArthurGlen IT team new levels of control over the network to identify and solve issues or security threats across all nine sites. Combined, this would grant McArthurGlen visibility of its network down to the individual port. Implementing such a solution required deep expertise and a secure high-capacity network to underpin it.
To help deliver the solution for McArthurGlen, Neos equipped Securus with a gigabit Resilience Option 2 (RO2) circuit for each of the nine sites (eighteen circuits in total). Having these circuits at each site gives each location gigabit bandwidth and provides even more resiliency against downtime or service issues.
Neos and Securus believe that through their work, McArthurGlen now has a robust and flexible connectivity solution in place that promotes greater visibility and security across the nine sites, backed up by dual gigabit circuits and state-of-the-art dual firewalls, delivering advanced yet cost-effective connectivity.
Securus added that customer support from Neos was a significant factor in the project’s and the wider partnership’s success. The technology firms’ partnership evolution has seen Securus streamline its network service providers over the years, choosing Neos as its primary partner due to its focus on collaboration, competitive pricing, and customer experience.
“While its offering is very competitive, it’s the collaborative approach to problem-solving that makes Neos such a natural choice for our projects,” said Securus Communications founder Brett Rowe. “It’s the relationship that works, our dedicated order manager makes the journey easy – they come to us with solutions, not problems.”