Global design-forward home décor company innovates with 3D CAD, HD video and fulfillment automation using Aruba ESP-based network

Even before COVID-19 fueled an e-commerce boom, home décor designer and manufacturer Umbra needed to update its wired and wireless networking to accommodate rapid business growth.

“A year prior to the pandemic we brought our e-commerce channel in-house, which increased sales,” explains Tariq Jamal, CIO for the Toronto, Ontario-based company. “In addition, we were expanding our overseas manufacturing operations. Supporting the resulting network demands of those, and other, initiatives required us to modernize our IT infrastructure.”

Expanding on a Trusted Aruba Partnership

A design-forward company, Umbra maintains nearly a dozen physical locations, totaling over 68,000 square meters, with offices in North America, Europe, and Brazil as well as manufacturing facilities in China and Vietnam. Driven by innovation and the desire to bring original design to everyday items, Umbra not only sells products directly to consumers but also maintains distribution alliances with leading retailers such as Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Wayfair.

To stay on the leading edge with technologies such as 3D CAD design, high-definition video marketing and fulfillment automation, 1000-employee Umbra, investigated network upgrade options with local partner RDEL Technologies. After a thorough evaluation, the company decided to extend its partnership with Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.

“Since we first adopted Aruba’s LAN and WLAN solutions some years ago, we’ve enjoyed secure, reliable connectivity that’s been easy to maintain and troubleshoot,” says Jamal. “Our research suggested that continuing with Aruba’s solution was the most advantageous path for gaining a future-ready network.”

Aruba ESP-based Network for Superior Experiences

For its updated Aruba ESP-based network, Umbra selected Aruba’s 510 Series Wi-Fi 6 access points (APs) and 2930F Switch Series for access switching. Umbra also updated its Aruba ClearPass deployment for unified network access control as well as AirWave for WLAN management and optimization.

Additionally, Umbra is planning to deploy User Experience Insight (UXI) to gain continuous real-time performance insights from a user and device perspective.

“Our hybrid device environment contains a mix of corporate-issued Dell laptops, BYOD smartphones, various wireless HP printers and Zebra handheld scanners,” says Jeff Dao, Umbra’s Infrastructure Lead. “Aruba’s infrastructure has made access and security a seamless experience for all of them.”

Continued Innovation from Design to Fulfillment

With its new network, Umbra can continue its tradition of innovation, starting with online collaborations among employees scattered across 15 countries.

“Historically, our company has depended upon live interactions via Zoom and, more recently, Microsoft Teams, for rapidly understanding and addressing market opportunities,” says Jamal.

“Whether you’re an executive in our corporate offices, a remote worker in the Dominican Republic or a production manager in Vietnam, collaborating with colleagues to fulfill our objectives and goals has always been the key to our business success,” he continues. “Our Aruba infrastructure ensures we can deliver consistent, high-quality online meeting experiences to everyone.”

Handling 3D CAD files and HD marketing videos with ease

For product development and engineering, Umbra’s design staff relies on the network for creating 3D CAD models using applications such as SolidWorks. “High-performance networking is imperative for ensuring our designers can innovate and accelerate our product development processes,” says Jamal.

It’s a similar story in Umbra’s marketing department. There, the company’s new infrastructure is handling high-definition videos and rendered photographs for superior e-commerce experiences. “Since establishing our videography department, files sizes have expanded about 250%,” Jamal says.

New manufacturing facilities and increased automation

On the manufacturing side, Umbra is adding a location in China and working toward automating various manual processes. These efforts are also facilitated by the new network.

“Updating our infrastructure is enabling us to develop and implement multiple streamlining initiatives,” says Jamal. “This automation will produce significant manufacturing efficiencies.”

Boosting fulfillment productivity to meet turbocharged demand

Sales growth also affects the company’s warehouse functions, such as pandemic-driven e-commerce product demand skyrocketing by over 80%.

“No matter why the market shifts, dramatic sales surges require us to staff up,” Jamal says. In turn, this causes spikes in handheld scanner densities and data traffic throughout Umbra’s fulfillment facilities.

“We can count on our Aruba solution to smoothly manage the fluctuations,” Dao says. “This keeps our permanent and temporary employees working productively, efficiently and accurately.”

Another task for Umbra’s new network is supporting a 130% expansion in the company’s security camera deployment “Visual documentation using security video is vital to profitability in multiple ways,” says Jamal.

“For example, retailers sometimes question whether an order was ready when their truck arrived,” he explains. “Using camera footage we can show our customer the activities that transpired, including arrival, loading and departure, which assists with demonstrating their shipment was fulfilled properly and on time.”

On the Horizon: UXI and More

As Umbra continues answering new competitive demands, its network will evolve in tandem.

Most immediately, the company intends to deploy Aruba’s User Experience Insight (UXI) for real-time performance insights from a user and device perspective. “We look forward to UXI assisting us with further optimizing our Wi-Fi in support of our many business-critical processes,” Dao says.

Umbra will also evaluate utilizing Dynamic Segmentation, which reduces networking complexity by automatically routing traffic and isolating endpoints – whether laptops, warehouse scanners or physical access controls – while also stopping any malicious activity.

A third consideration is migrating to cloud-native Aruba Central, for unified wired and wireless network management, and the Aruba AOS-CX switching series for AI-powered, self-healing capabilities. Each of these options reduces IT overhead by improving infrastructure simplicity and visibility.

Always-on network for staying competitive in a rapidly-changing world

Regardless what comes next, Umbra is confident it has the networking flexibility and scalability to meet new challenges and capture new opportunities.

“Our network is as critical to our business growth and sustainability as electricity and plumbing,” says Jamal. “It serves as the veins for everything we do.”

“With Aruba, our wired and wireless infrastructure is so problem-free, no one really thinks about it because it’s working,” he adds.