Background
Most businesses rely on the internet and Wi-Fi for their day-to-day operations. For Third Wave, it is mission critical. Third Wave develops autonomous forklifts for the industrial sector that rely on connectivity to operate. They have employees spread remotely across the globe as well as two physical locations, an office and a warehouse. They have an IT Infrastructure Manager, Masa Iwama, who wears many hats, one of which is keeping employees connected.
The challenge
Multimode autonomous forklifts require connectivity for testing, to switch into remote operation mode, and to receive updated commands. The forklifts can run without network connectivity, however, internet and Wi-Fi are required to send them updated commands and to get critical safety stop messages, ensuring they run seamlessly. The work of sourcing internet service providers (ISPs), ordering hardware, installing a network, and the ongoing maintenance of troubleshooting problems that come up is no small task. Installation of a new network can take several weeks, not to mention Masa cannot be in two locations at once. With a one-person IT team, there are much higher leverage things he wants to be focused on.
“I cannot respond to VPN issues across multiple time zones and countries. I can’t be in two places at once. That’s where Meter comes in.” Masa Iwama IT Infrastructure Manager
The solution
Meter manages internet, networking, Wi-Fi, and ongoing maintenance for Third Wave allowing Masa to focus on higher-leverage IT work. With fast, secure, and reliable connectivity, Third Wave is able to reduce downtime and increase productivity.
“Without Meter, we’d hire more dedicated IT resources to maintain and upgrade our connectivity. With the current economic environment, I don't want to hire more people. I want more people working on our robots, not the infrastructure.” Masa Iwama IT Infrastructure Manager
Meter allows Third Wave to:
- Build great infrastructure without increasing headcount
- Remotely access their robots via VPN
- Rely on experts to manage and support their network
- Quickly determine the root problem in Meter’s dashboard, saving time
- Increase efficiency when dealing with ISPs
- Manage their network with enterprise access controls
Customer Value
- Time savings - reduce IT work needed to install and manage a network
- Cost savings - not having to expand their IT team