Loom runs a video communication platform for async work that helps companies communicate better at scale. Over 14 million users across more than 200,000 companies around the world trust Loom to get things done faster.
The challenge
Prema Nagarajan, Loom’s IT Director, has over 25 years of IT experience managing in-house networking teams across three different continents.
When Loom decided to move to a new space in San Francisco and open up their first office in New York, Prema explored multiple options for Loom’s expanding network.
“We had existing relationships with a managed service provider and internet service providers at our current San Francisco office. But we had issues with our initial network implementation with the managed service provider,” Prema explains. ”My team and I reviewed our existing contracts and figured out how to shift from one address to another while also setting up a new firewall. At that point, we started to understand how complex the process would be — and how difficult it would be to maintain.”
Meter delivers security at scale
Prema’s requirements for new network and Wi-Fi solutions included a wired and wireless network for two offices, plus network redundancy. That required one gigabit of dedicated fiber for the primary ISP, and shared fiber for the secondary ISP. “In the event that we decided to open additional locations, I didn’t want to reinvent a solution every time,” Prema says. “We were looking for scalability in the fastest amount of time.”
When Meter entered the picture, Prema compared the cost of a monthly subscription with the average salary of a network engineer. She realized that if Loom established and self-maintained their own networks, she would have to hire a network engineer. That team member would be based in San Francisco, but would have to travel to New York to troubleshoot problems as they arose.
Instead of creating an internal networking department, Prema concluded that partnering with Meter was a more streamlined choice. “Meter provides both security and scalability,” she says.
“Even if I hired two network engineers, working with Meter was faster and more efficient. They provided end-to-end implementation, which included suggesting the ISPs, negotiating rates, and project managing the entire network installation process.”
Scalable and secure networks
Meter designed, deployed, and continues to manage the networks for Loom’s new San Francisco and New York offices. “Everyone at Meter is very responsive,” Prema shares. “If an issue comes up, they immediately acknowledge it, try to understand the problem, and solve it as quickly as possible.”
The experience of working with Meter made it clear to Prema that a fast-growing company like Loom shouldn’t have to hire more engineers in order to successfully scale a network. “Networking as a service is much more viable, and that’s exactly what Meter provides”.