NetSpective Case Studies

Chicago Bridge & Iron

Dating back to the Civil War, Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I) is one of the world's leading engineering and construction companies. Specialists in the design, engineering, fabrication, field erection, and repair of steel plate structures and their related systems, CB&I has earned a reputation for completing incredibly complex projects, such as constructing the world's largest petroleum storage tank in Saudi Arabia and building storage tanks for the Trans Alaska pipeline in the most remote areas around the world. Operating successfully in areas as far-flung as Buenos Aires and Perth requires quick access to information and constant communication with corporate headquarters. Therefore, an efficiently managed network, spanning six continents and more than 50 locations, is critical.

With almost 70% of its locations connected by a slow and overused network, the key challenges for CB&I were reducing communications costs and managing network bandwidth. After reviewing other Internet solutions, CB&I chose NetSpective.

"NetSpective was the clear choice because of the depth and breadth of functionality in its monitoring and reporting capabilities," said Kelly Housman, technical analyst at CB&I. "It also has a great graphical user interface, and it's easy-to-use and required minimal training on our part."

The server database creates weekly reports that relate the data to a directory of users, assigns costs, and automatically e-mails each department head within the company, providing pertinent user analysis. Since NetSpective has been operating so successfully at its home office, CB&I plans to expand its use in the company.

CB&I also utilizes NetSpective to help manage network bandwidth. The company's remote sites are connected through either a WAN or a commercial ISP. NetSpective tracks the bandwidth usage by protocol and lets CB&I know what portion of the line is being utilized. This allows CB&I to change settings in the company's network so traffic is stretched out over the course of the day rather than being clogged at prime usage time.

"It is crucial in our business that our remote offices have reliable connections so they have access to information and corporate e-mail," noted Housman. "And it can be real challenging in certain countries where lines are not very reliable."

TeleMate.Net not only helped CB&I manage available bandwidth efficiently, but it also helped them reduce communications costs. "Reducing unnecessary network traffic not only helped us cut our communications expenses but allowed us to alleviate the growing demands on the network," Housman explained. "All that together helps us reduce our overall network costs."

Another benefit for CB&I is increased employee productivity. When CB&I was implementing NetSpective, they also developed an Internet Policy for employees that detailed proper Internet usage for business-related activities. Through NetSpective reports, CB&I was able to confirm that there was no inappropriate Internet usage. "Using this proactive approach we know employees are using the Internet strictly for work-related tasks," said Housman. "NetSpective has definitely made it easy for us to implement and monitor our employee Internet usage policy. "

Finally, Housman cited increased productivity in his job, too. Since NetSpective automatically generates weekly reports, Housman has more time to focus on the company's future network needs. "That leads to better long-term plans and decisions for upgrading or managing the network for optimal performance, and that means improved productivity for all our users, " he said.