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Network is a critical element in any geographically distributed enterprise which has a huge customer base. But creating a robust networking backbone is a daunting task. Here we look at a niche company and how it has deployed its networking backbone. CRI Pumps, one of the leading water-lifting pumps manufacturers with monoblock, submersibles, pressure booster pumps, motors, valves, etc. in its portfolio, has a pan-India presence, a network of 4,000 plus dealers and a turnover of Rs 400 crore. The company also has presence in eighty countries which include UAE, Africa, Spain, Turkey and Brazil. Having achieved a record capacity of over 750,000 pumps per annum, today CRI is one of the leading brands in the world with advanced technology and safety standards as its hallmarks. JS Srikanth, head, IT, CRI Pumps talks to Voice&Data about the kind of network backbone his company has deployed. Excerpts

For IT to function seamlessly a robust networking back-end is a must. Can you talk about your network architecture and its significance?
The network of an enterprise plays a significant role in the search for latest opportunities and the quest for resources. And it also plays a very vital role for business continuity. We need to provide un-interrupted connectivity for the operations to continue, keeping in mind the security; monitoring tools to support employee productivity; remote management facility; and incorporating optimization technologies. This is what we have taken care of in our network architecture. Elina Networks, working with Vertex Infocomm, has deployed ENPAQ Business Gateway solution in our company. These gateways are responsible for data network connectivity providing routing, firewall and virtual private network (VPN) functionality to connect CRI's key database applications. Using the solution at each remote branch location, we are able to guarantee seamless networking services to all our offices at all times. One of the key reasons we selected Elina Networks was the complete remote management offered by ENPAQ Business Gateways. This deployment has created a robust networked environment in which we have achieved an un-interrupted data communication.

What are the benefits you have accrued out of this network solution?
The solution from Elina Networks has helped us to reduce complexity in branch operations. They include unified networking, security, and monitoring functionality on a completely remotely manageable platform. By unifying branch services, we have improved network reliability and significant reduction of branch operating costs, while responding more quickly to problems and performing upgrades remotely. It no longer makes sense for companies to disrupt their branch office and require on-site service calls due to issues associated with a rack full of point products at each location. CRI Pumps has recognized the value of a highly resilient, remotely manageable networking environment and its positive impact on business.

Which connectivity solutions do you use-IPLC, VPN (IP-Sec or MPLS), VSAT and Wireless?
CRI Pumps has its branch offices spread across the country and these offices are interconnected by MPLS VPN as its primary data connectivity. Now with business gateway, we have created a robust networked environment and have achieved a seamless 24x7 network availability of data, voice, etc, between our offices. CRI Pumps is a technology savvy company and we are the only pump company in India to have a completely networked IT infrastructure in place to meet its business needs. This not only allows us to create a state-of-the-art solution, but also enables seamless upgrades and remote management so that we can guarantee compatibility between our offices.

Can you touch upon some of the key networking challenges you faced, and how you addressed them in your own organization?
Yes, we did face some challenges like arriving at 24x7x365 network availability for all users and at the same time creating a secured network. These challenges are countered by deploying management and monitoring tools that enable us to manage the networks without compromising on employee productivity.

Another challenge was to train the IT staff to keep the essentials of IT functioning properly like lesser time to implement new apps and manage and troubleshoot them. Other key challenges were aspects like optimization technologies, as well as application acceleration, load balancing, and caching.

The other major challenges is to tune the network to the demands of remote employees and leverage collaborative technologies such as web-conferencing, telepresence, videoconferencing, and shared workspaces among others. With these demands we deployed a network that is available, secure, and robust enough to meet all our operational requirements.

Can you tell us about the mission critical nature of your networks given the demands of your operations?
The network availability is so critical for our operations that any downtime will severely affect our business. So we needed to have a seamless networking service to all our offices at all times. At the same time we needed a solution which can achieve multiple network options like routing, firewall, VPN, etc, and also provide complete remote management functionality.

How do you manage SLAs? What are your views on the service providers' deliverables?
Yes, service providers do commit on maximum up-time and adhere to it, but there are situations which arise un-expectedly and do not get solved as per the SLA. We always need to be prepared with alternates to achieve 100% uptime. The ENPAQ business gateway solution has helped us overcome this issue to completely avoid downtimes. This could be achieved by the feature functionality in the solution to automatically switch over and route through alternate networks, load-balancing etc. Moreover, uptimes are achieved well today. There have been remarkable improvement in connectivity services in India in the last few years.

How do you manage network security concerns?
We face daunting challenges when it comes to security. Worms, viruses, spam, internal theft, hacking and employees with malicious intent are some of the security challenges faced today. The solution we have deployed provides a firewall and intrusion detection systems to defend against the threats to the network by restricting only the right data to enter the network. Apart from these it also provides Web proxy and content filtering solutions, thus enforcing the Web usage policies for the network. We also have other solutions like anti-virus, end point security, etc, in place to manage the security at our company.

Shrikanth G
shrikanthg@cybermedia.co.in