DrayTek solution for Growth Kitchen
Expired
Project Overview
Client: Growth Kitchen
Partner: MF Telecom
Products Used: Vigor 2865, AP 960c, Vigor ACS
About the Client
Driven by online platforms like Deliveroo, the home delivery food market is growing fast, leaving restaurant brands struggling to keep up with demand. That's where Growth Kitchen comes in. They repurpose industrial units by installing around 10 individual professional kitchens, which they license to brands wanting delivery-only kitchens within their wider estate. Growth Kitchen then manages operations and sales within those sites.
The Challenge
As well as the primary utilities of electricity, gas and water, companies operating from a Growth Kitchen facility need one other vital ingredient – highly reliable internet access.
That's because 90% - 95% of their orders are generated online via their own website, customer-focused third-party platforms and catering platforms.
“The challenge is for these kitchens to be able to operate and trade in line with their business models - so connectivity, reliability and zero downtime are a must”
explained Laurence Holmes-Smith, Growth Kitchen’s Operations Manager.
“It is imperative that the infrastructure for each kitchen allows for a solid, resilient, fast, Wi-Fi network.”
Having limited internal expertise for hardware and communications implementation, Growth Kitchen outsource their telecoms requirements to a dedicated provider. But choosing the right one can be a challenge in itself. Fortunately, they found MF Telecom Services, who offer a wide range of fully managed IT services.
The Solution
Before engaging MF Telecom Services, Growth Kitchen had experienced connection issues with their previous supplier's Wi-Fi solution. The support they received was also not up to expectation and the hardware they installed had no off-site maintenance capability. To address these challenges, MF Telecom Services recommended a DrayTek solution consisting of a DrayTek Vigor 2865 Firewall with 10 x
Vigor 960c Wi-Fi Access Points, all linked to a Vigor ACS management system. MFTS had every reason to be confident in their choice.
“We’d used DrayTek solutions for our own business. We were so pleased with the results that when we were looking to become a reseller for router solutions to recommend to our clients, selecting DrayTek as our go-to supplier was a no-brainer.”
said Ben Capas, Managing Director of MF Telecom Services.
Given how essential uninterrupted connectivity is for business, for extra safety and security, and to make sure the system stays up and running in case the main connection goes down, the router features a second WAN for failover.
“MFTS scoped the requirements – size of area, number of kitchens, usage needs etc., but DrayTek were really helpful in recommending the perfect hardware for us to fit and manage,”
said Ben Capas.
The solution comprised three elements:
DrayTek's Vigor 2865 series multi-WAN firewall VPN routers are ideal for superfast VDSL broadband and ethernet-based FTTP fibre broadband. With gigabit throughput, VPN client/server, comprehensive firewall, and content filtering controls, they are perfect for home offices, small businesses and satellite offices.
The VigorAP 960C Wi-Fi 6 Access Point with Mesh offers up to 1.8Gbps dual-band wireless rates. These features improve efficiency, enable more clients per AP, reduce the cost of network deployments, improve coverage, and eliminate Wi-Fi dead zones.
“Adding a Vigor ACS management system meant everything can be accessed remotely via the cloud, so we can offer full offsite management. This, along with the reliability, security and robustness of DrayTek, makes it a great solution for Growth Kitchen.”
said Ben.
Now, no matter how busy it gets, each kitchen can keep up with the flow of internet orders, and drivers waiting on the premises can receive their delivery instructions.
