Flexible workspace,
powered by Wi-Fi
RSA Group brought all London employees
under one roof with a Cisco® Unified Access
solution. There’s one network, one policy,
and one management interface for wired and
Wi‑Fi connections.
“We’re saving millions of pounds a year from the combination of less
office space and office sharing. We could not have done it without a
rock-solid corporate Wi-Fi solution.
”
James Sandell, Group IT Delivery Director, RSA Group
Flexible workspace reduces space requirements because a certain percentage
of employees are out of the office at any given time. To make it work, RSA
needed a solid, secure wireless network and an easy way to manage it.
Challenges
• Reduce London real-estate costs
• Improve productivity and team collaboration
• Lower IT costs
RSA Group is a leading global insurance company with 18,500 employees
around the world, including just under 1000 in London. To reduce rental costs,
the company decided to consolidate its three separate London offices in one
location: the iconic “Walkie Talkie” building at 20 Fenchurch Street.
“We wanted to change the culture,” says James Sandell, Group IT Delivery
Director, RSA Group. “People would no longer own a particular desk or office.”
Instead they would choose the right space for the day’s work—maybe a quiet room
in the morning and a team room or the company coffee shop in the afternoon.
Case Study | RSA Group
Size: 18,500 employees
Location: United Kingdom
© 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Industry: Insurance
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Cisco Unified Access uses Cisco switches
to handle both wireless and wired network
traffic, so RSA doesn’t have to buy and
manage separate wireless controllers.
• Built one network for wired and wireless connections
using Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
Solutions
• Enforced one policy no matter where people connect,
using Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
• Provided one management interface, Cisco
Prime™ Infrastructure
One network, one policy, one management interface
The wired and wireless networks are managed with the same application,
Cisco Prime Infrastructure. Cisco ISE recognizes the user and device, and
automatically connects them to the right VLAN based on policy.
“Our Cisco Unified Access solution provides one network, one policy, and
one management,” Sandell says. “People can work from anywhere in the
building, because the underpinning Wi-Fi is rock solid, fast, and easy to join.”
Improved peopleto-desk ratio
from 0 .9 to 1.3
• Lowered real-estate costs
Results
• Simplified IT management
• Strengthened ties with brokers by providing reliable,
fast guest Wi-Fi
© 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
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Employees have the freedom to work anywhere in
the building
Employees can connect to Wi-Fi using corporate or personal devices. They
can even roam between floors without losing their connections. They can
log in to any Cisco IP Phone to personalize it with their office and speed-dial
numbers. “We have an energetic workspace,” Sandell says. “It’s low cost,
and all underpinned by flexible IT infrastructure.”
Desk sharing saves millions of pounds annually.
In the old offices, approximately ten percent of the desks were unoccupied at
any given time. Now desks are fully occupied. In fact, RSA provides one desk
for every 1.3 people.
Employees like the flexible workspace. So do brokers that sell RSA Group
products. The fast Wi-Fi and easy connection makes it convenient to check
email, browse the web, and complete transactions. The easy accessibility
for brokers to visit RSA offices means they get to spend more time with RSA
experts and discussing business, easily and flexibly.
One network costs less than two
“We’ve slashed IT expenses,” says Sandell. Management is simpler because
network administrators use just one interface. The help desk receives almost
no calls about Wi-Fi, because it’s so reliable and doesn’t require a login.
And IT no longer needs to spend time reconnecting network cables when
employees move.
“If we’d known how effective the Cisco Wi-Fi network is, we would have
probably held back on wiring and saved several hundred thousand pounds,”
says Sandell.
Sandell concludes, “We’re saving millions of pounds a year from the
combination of less office space and office sharing. We could not have
done it without a rock-solid corporate Wi-Fi solution.”
Next up: flexible workspaces in other global offices
RSA Group is preparing to introduce flexible workspaces in its other offices.
The company projects that Generation-Y employees will account for 50
percent of the workforce by 2020, up from 25 percent today. The Cisco
Unified Access solution lays the foundation for them to work the way they
want—from anywhere, on any device.
© 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
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Products & Services
Wireless
• Cisco Aironet® wireless
access points
Collaboration
• Cisco Unified
Communications Manager
Routing and Switching
• Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switch
with Cisco IOS® XE Software
• Cisco Unified IP Phones
9900 Series
Security
• Cisco Identity Services Engine
For More Information
To view all Cisco customer stories, visit www.cisco.com/go/customerstories
To learn more about Cisco Unified Access solutions,
visit www.cisco.com/go/unified access
For more information on RSA, visit www.rsagroup.com.
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a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1110R)
© 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information.
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