CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL

ORELL FÜSSLI THALIA AG

35

Business locations

700

Employees

Since 2017

UPC Business customer

Name

Orell Füssli Thalia AG

Sector

Bookselling

Business locations

35

Employees

700

Customer since

2017

Products and services purchased

Business Internet

, MPLS-VPN, Managed IP-PBX

Key Account Manager

André Meyes:

andre.meyes@upc.ch

Initial situation

Orell Füssli Thalia AG is a joint venture between Orell Füssli Buchhandlungs AG and Thalia Bücher AG. With its 35 branches, the online platform orellfüssli.ch and the newly founded Delivros Orell Füssli AG, the bookshop is the market leader in Switzerland.


The merger in 2013 presented the IT management with new challenges. In the network area, various providers and contracts were involved, which had a negative impact on the support situation and the cost structure. At the end of 2016, the IT management decided to modernise and standardise the Internet service and fixed network telephony in all branches. Two of the three largest Swiss corporate network carriers were invited for talks and commissioned to set up a pilot branch at the beginning of 2017 so that the recommended solution could be tested live. The UPC Business concept included a highly available Internet service, an MPLS VPN for IP telephony and DECT telephones.


The experience with UPC Business gained during the pilot operation and the test results of their pilot branch at Zurich-Stadelhofen station convinced the IT management the most. The services were put into operation on schedule from autumn 2017 onwards.

Solution

The set-up for the Internet and the fixed network is identical in all branches today. The local thin clients are connected to the data centre in Germany via the Internet (IPsec). 21 branches are connected to the fibre optic network, the others use an SDSL/VDSL connection. Bandwidths between 18 and 100 Mbit/s are available for the Internet service. Availability is increased in all branches by an additional backup router with a mobile network connection (4G) (the reception was optimised wherever necessary with additional external antennae).


To ensure top call quality in the fixed network, an MPLS VPN with 2 Mbit/s bandwidth is provided exclusively for VoIP. The entire voice traffic of all the branches is routed via an IP-PBX in the UPC data centre. DECT telephones are used in the branches. The regional telephone numbers were ported and supplemented with a new 058 number block. Burkhalter Net Works, a long-standing partner of UPC Business, is responsible for the installation, configuration and maintenance of the telephony solution. To ensure that the customer always has his or her costs under control, a company-wide flat rate was agreed upon.

Extra miles

The installation of the pilot branch with DECT telephones was a challenge due to the structural conditions at Zurich-Stadelhofen station and required a lot of flexibility and improvisation talent on the part of the partner.


The bandwidth management for Internet (company network) and MPLS-VPN (fixed network) is tailor-made.


The so-called pop-up stores (mobile wheeled furniture for selling books in station passages) need Internet access for database searches and the cash register. Preconfigured routers with SIM cards were provided for this purpose.


Correct as of: September 2019

«We value the flexibility and the uncomplicated, transparent and honest cooperation with UPC Business. The new solution is 40 percent cheaper – with massively improved services.»

Dominik Blunk
Dominik Blunk, IT Manager, Orell Füssli Thalia AG

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