Online lender maximizes Wi-Fi performance and management with Aruba Central and Aruba Instant Access Points

As one of the largest independently owned online lenders in the United States, Balboa Capital uses state-of-the-art technology to offer business owners a faster and easier way to access capital. The company developed an intuitive and proprietary web-based platform that simplifies the entire financing process. Applications can be completed online in a matter of minutes, sophisticated credit scoring technology provides instant decisions, and funding of up to $250,000 can be provided on the same day.

"Technology is changing faster than ever, particularly in the business financing industry," said Tony Vargas, Senior Systems Engineer in Balboa Capital's Information Technology Department. "New products and web-based systems are making it easier and faster for business owners to secure growth capital. To stay ahead of the competition, we replace outdated or obsolete technologies with those that are newer and more robust, and that meet the needs of today's business owners. The same strategy applies to the technologies that we have in our office. We make a point of empowering our employees with the very latest technological innovations that can increase productivity and make a positive impact on our bottom line. This is no more evident than with our purchase of Aruba Central and Aruba Instant access points for our headquarters office."

The Clear Choice for Our Company's Needs

After pinpointing and troubleshooting the company's Wi-Fi issues, Balboa Capital's IT team developed a strategy to make significant improvements. A short-term fix was the immediate priority, but the company wanted a solution that could accommodate the company's rapid growth and addition of new employees in the future, and that would provide its IT team with a simple and efficient way to manage all aspects of its Wi-Fi network. Balboa Capital evaluated several vendors including Cisco Meraki that offer enterprise wireless network solutions, and it ended up selecting Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.

"Aruba was the clear choice for our company's needs," said Mr. Vargas. "Aruba Central shows us what's happening in real-time on a robust dashboard and, because it's cloud-based, we can add access points, troubleshoot potential connectivity issues, monitor analytics, and generate detailed reports without having to be on a local network. This saves us time and allows us to work more efficiently. Next, the Aruba IAPs were proven to maximize mobile Wi-Fi performance and eliminate drops when users visit different parts of the office. This is a tremendous benefit because many of our employees go from our 11th floor to our 12th floor, and vice-versa, with their mobile devices."

Anytime, anywhere access

Balboa Capital's open and spacious office was designed to improve efficiency and foster collaboration between departments. That said, there are times when the company's employees need Wi-Fi access to conduct business off-site, or to tend to personal matters in a private setting.

"With our expanded Wi-Fi capability, our employees can conduct business on their laptop computers, tablets, and mobile devices at our amenity-filled courtyard and campus lounge," said Mr. Vargas. "It features social lounges, private patios, fire pits, and a food truck runway. Plus, our employees can use their mobile devices to make personal phone calls or browse the Internet inside sound isolation rooms that are conveniently located in our lobby."

Keeping guests connected

Balboa Capital is not open to the public, but the company does have guests on occasion. They include prospective employees, investment banking professionals, and vendors. When guests arrive, they check-in at an mzero indoor kiosk with a 26-inch touchscreen, and might have to wait a few minutes in the lobby.

"It's no secret that first impressions about our company are formed while guests are waiting in the lobby, said Mr. Vargas. "By offering them a password-protected Wi-Fi connection, they can use their mobile devices to catch up on important emails, surf the web, or respond to text messages while they wait. From a business perspective, this is a nice benefit."

Now streaming on a device near you

Balboa Capital holds in-office events throughout the year to highlight the company's achievements, present awards to employees, and announce new initiatives, technologies, and processes. Prior to deploying Aruba's wireless network, the live streams of these events often had problems such as slow buffering, video lag, and low resolution.

"Company events are a longstanding tradition at Balboa Capital," said Mr. Vargas. "They are a great way to keep everyone informed about our company's developments and reward our employees who have excelled. We recently invested in state-of-the-art audio and video recording equipment to record our company events, and the Aruba network has taken our live stream quality to the next level."

Easy to Install and Deploy

Balboa Capital's IT team configured and installed IAPs without having to hire an outside consultant or a commercial Wi-Fi installation company. Two password-protected Wi-Fi networks were also created; one for general users (Balboa Capital employees and guests), and one for Balboa Capital's senior managers and IT team.

"Installing our access points was relatively simple and straightforward," said Mr. Vargas. "We determined where the IAPs needed to be placed, and we connected each one to a Power over Ethernet (PoE) connection. We then logged onto Aruba Central, added the serial numbers of each access point, and introduced them via the cloud. Once we finished the installation process, we conducted tests to confirm that all the access points were recognized on our network, and we were ready to go."

Aruba Central is as easy as 1-2-3

Balboa Capital's IT team wanted the ability to manage the company's Wi-Fi settings, reporting, and bandwidth, among others, in a simple and efficient manner.

"One of the biggest advantages of Aruba Central, outside of its wide array of capabilities, is how easy it is to use," said Mr. Vargas. "There is no need to switch from one application or dashboard to another in order to get the network information you need. With Aruba Central, everything you need is conveniently accessible via the cloud on a single dashboard. It's as easy as one-two-three. Lastly, we did not have to buy any servers, which saved us both time and money."

A setup that puts your convenience first

Balboa Capital's IT team members are busy managing mission-critical tasks for every department in the company, including sales, operations, accounting, marketing, and customer service. As a result, these tech-minded individuals cannot afford to waste time with complicated or lengthy setup processes relating to new technology or applications.

"Aruba Central's Installer App is user-friendly and designed to get you up and running right away after you set up your company account," said Mr. Vargas. "I didn't need to contact customer support or look for help online after the install was complete. I just imported our existing wireless network configuration and followed the on-screen instructions to complete the process."

Simplified updates without downtime updates, simplified

The process of updating Aruba firmware is simple and saves time, which is what Balboa Capital's IT team wanted.

"Aruba makes it easy to update firmware," said Mr. Vargas. "All you need to do is click the Maintenance app link in Aruba Central and click Firmware. If there is a new firmware version available, you just select your devices and click the upgrade button. It's the fast and easy way to improve device performance and security."