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McKee Foods
McKee Foods Moves Quickly to Sweeten Mobility for its Mobile Workers

Simplify connectivity to the McKee Foods corporate network for mobile users, over a variety of different transport methods, including wireless, all while keeping tight control over costs and security threats. Deploy Fiberlinks MaaS360 platform, consisting of the MaaS360 Mobile Service and MaaS360 Management Center, to McKee Foods mobile workforce. It provides easy-to-use connectivity with comprehensive endpoint security - all in a single, unified package. Simple, one-click connectivity for 1,500 mobile workers around the globe, end-toend security, vastly improved management and control and cost savings of over 50%.

CHALLENGE

SOLUTION

McKee Foods is a family run business best known for producing the line of Little Debbie snack cakes, Americas leading snack cake brand. In its 70 years in operation, McKee has grown from a three-person bakery to a group of companies that provide a livelihood for more than 6,000 employees, and has annual sales in excess of $1 billion. McKee products are available across the U.S., in Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, and on U.S. military bases around the world. McKee Foods regional employees have responsibilities that require them to work remotely from the field. To allow these professionals to work productively while remote, McKee must provide a mobile connectivity solution to deliver reliable and secure access to the corporate network. In the past, McKee Foods used a combination of connectivity services and wireless broadband data cards to facilitate Internet connectivity to remote staff. Dial-up services were slow and sometimes expensive due to the use of 800 numbers in remote locations where the legacy provider offered no other access options. The wireless data cards were also expensive, and tracking the costs associated with their use was not feasible because McKee could not control when and where its employees chose the broadband service over the less expensive options.

RESULTS

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Jerry Griswold, Sales Information Systems Manager at McKee Foods

The Solution

McKee Foods required a Wi-Fi connectivity vendor that could meet several criteria to move forward with an implementation:

Short Deployment Time: McKee Foods had to make a quick transition to a new mobility solutions provider. The solution had to
reach staff rapidly. The new vendor would have to guarantee the timeline for the deployment (from contract to user acceptance) would not exceed 60 days. Mobility-as-a-Service: McKee sought a vendor to provide seamless connectivity options instead of having to contract with multiple third party access providers. The company also wanted to ensure that security software was reaching its remote devices, and was up to date and working property. Fiberlinks MaaS360 technology delivers mobility-as-a-service by consolidating multiple access and security options into one solution, for one annual fee. A Comprehensive Service Package: McKee needed a provider to deliver universal Wi-Fi connectivity to 500 remote sales staff located across the United States. Reduced Costs: The new solution needed to have a price point that would reduce the overall cost of mobile connectivity services for employees in the field. The solution also had to offer a fair price for dial-up services in certain areas. Improved Security: While McKee Foods had a preexisting data security platform installed on the laptops of remote users, McKee wanted a provider that could also extend security software out to remote workers and ensure it worked properly. With Fiberlinks MaaS360 Platform McKee could configure remote machines to use secure Wi-Fi hotspots, and it could feel confident that employees were using secure connections to access the corporate network. Pro-active Support: One of McKees goals was to improve the process by which new employees were on-boarded and supported going forward. The new provider would have to monitor the deployment of the solution to remote staff and confirm that the connectivity agent installed on remote machines was property configured. With the legacy system, if the connectivity agent was not installed sufficiently, a new password had to be generated every time the agent was reconfigured. This was frustrating for IT and for sales staff. Due to the short implementation time, once Fiberlink was awarded the contract, the decision was made to allow Fiberlink to manage the deployment of the mobility software enabling McKee to concentrate on communicating with their staff. McKee Foods primary mode of contact with remote staff is email communication - highlighting the importance of a reliable remote access and seamless connectivity for McKee. To accomplish the deployment, Fiberlinks Professional Services and Customer Engineering teams provided McKee with the user documentation they needed to get through the implementation process and training. This included a Welcome Kit that is used to define timelines and responsibilities, release notes and quick start guides. Additionally, they were in contact with McKee several times a week during the process to assist with their testing and deployment. In the end, Fiberlink was able to deploy a working MaaS360 solution to McKees nearly 500 sales professionals in just five business days. Fiberlink was also able to provide daily reporting on the status of remote machines running the mobility software and immediately address any concerns.

McKee Foods The Challenge

Despite cost or coverage area, McKee had to enable sales staff to connect wirelessly to the corporate network. In March 2008, McKee faced a dilemma. The companys current mobility solutions provider was abruptly discontinuing the dial-up services used by the sale staff in the field. McKee went in search of a mobile solution that could be deployed quickly, cost effectively and seamlessly so as not to disrupt business as usual for remote staff. The solution McKee would implement needed to include an extensive, far- reaching, Wi- Fi footprint in order to support staff throughout North America. Dial-up services were no longer acceptable for their growing sales team, so McKee sought a vendor that could deliver high-speed Internet connectivity through Wi-FI hotspots. After interviewing several vendors, McKee decided that Fiberlinks MaaS360 platform provided the range of access, at a lower price with a superior level of customer service. Since McKee only had a month to make the transition from the previous provider to Fiberlink, the team from Fiberlink went right to work tailoring a solution for McKee.

Everyone from Fiberlink was very knowledgeable, they answered our questions decisively and provided good information, but they didnt tell us what to do, the Fiberlink solution is flexible and it can be tailored to meet our needs, moreover, we can now connect in any city in the country,

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McKee Foods Benefits

The MaaS360 solution was deployed to McKee Foods remote employees in five business days. This was made possible by Fiberlinks software and services and its expertise in mobility. The condensed implementation timeline called for superior customer support throughout the rollout, as well as tight coordination with McKees team. Key to making the rapid deployment process work was providing a high level of support to McKee Foods as the MaaS360 product was installed and employees transitioned to a new mobile connectivity provider. Fiberlink helped McKee Foods through the rollout process and followedup the technical deployment by providing extensive documentation explaining how the MaaS360 application worked. Subsequently, McKee was able to communicate to employeesin a single emailhow the MaaS360 product worked and how it could benefit them. The availability of reliable Wi-Fi access points allows McKee staff to access the corporate network and Internet efficiently so they can remain productive wherever their job takes them. Fiberlinks solution delivers more wireless access points in continental U.S. and Canada than any other remote access vendors, allowing McKees remote staff to enjoy seamless connectivity, in more places and at higher speeds. While other companies spend budget and time managing individual carriers, MaaS360 helps McKee Foods manage remote access costs by consolidating multiple Wi-Fi connectivity agents into one and tracking the usage of Wi-Fi services across the sales organization. Fiberlinks platform was also able to deliver a faster level of connectivity at a lower monthly rate than McKees previous provider. As a result of implementing the Fiberlink solution, McKee Foods has reduced overall remote access expenses attributed to the sales team by 50 percent. Everyone from Fiberlink was very knowledgeable, they answered our questions decisively and provided good information, but they didnt tell us what to do, says Jerry Griswold, Sales Information Systems Manager at McKee Foods who handled the implementation from the client side. The Fiberlink solution is flexible and it can be tailored to meet our needs, moreover, we can now connect in any city in the country, Griswold adds.

For More Information

To learn more about our technology and services visit www.maas360.com. 1787 Sentry Parkway West, Building 18, Suite 200 | Blue Bell, PA 19422 Phone 215.664.1600 | Fax 215.664.1601 | sales@fiberlink.com
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