Customer Success Story
AI-driven networking helps Powerco light up New Zealand
Powerco brings light and heat into the homes and businesses of 1.1 million customers in New Zealand. Safe, reliable distribution of electricity and gas has long been supported by a flexible Juniper network, alongside local services provided by NEC, and Powerco recently turned up a Juniper AI-driven Wi-Fi network to improve the reliability of its wireless connectivity as well.
Overview
| Company | Powerco |
| Industry | Energy and Utilities |
| Products used | AP43, Wi-Fi Assurance, MX Series, EX Series, SRX Series |
| Region | APAC |
344,000
Homes, businesses, and industrial sites connected to Powerco electricity and gas networks
Optimize Wi-Fi
Fast, reliable office connectivity keeps employees productive
Simplify
Network with support for IT and OT systems
28,441
Kilometers of electricity lines and cables and 6,100 km of gas pipes
Keep Communities Connected
Powerco has invested in its energy distribution infrastructure to enable the reliable delivery of electricity and gas as New Zealand’s population grows.
Powerco has used Juniper routing, switching, and security for five years for its operational technology (OT) network to support energy delivery.
Recently, the reliability of its aging Wi-Fi network in its offices started to wane. Employees became frustrated and constant troubleshooting was distracting the IT team from strategic work. Powerco decided to upgrade to Wi-Fi 6 for faster, more reliable connectivity.
A converged IT and OT network
In order to transform and modernize its networking operations, Powerco and NEC, the long-term system integration partner to Powerco, exercised a thorough analysis on the requirements and concluded Juniper’s AI-driven wireless solution as the most viable solution for the utility’s 10 offices across the North Island.
Juniper wireless access points work in conjunction with the Juniper Mist cloud architecture and Mist AI™ to deliver optimized user experiences and simplify network operations. Juniper Mist Wi-Fi Assurance automates wireless operations, making Wi-Fi predictable, reliable, and measurable.
With Juniper networking for its core, substation, and office connectivity, complemented by NEC’s consultancy and implementation services, Powerco can support demanding, deterministic operational applications and enterprise IT applications alike on the same infrastructure. The utility is able to boost network availability, simplify IT and OT network operations, and lower costs.
Enable safe, reliable delivery of power
With AI-driven networking in its offices, the workday isn’t disrupted by Wi-Fi frustrations, employees can stay focused on their roles, whether that’s customer service, connecting rural homes to the grid, building new substations, or rolling out smart meters.
With AI-driven networking in its offices, resource-intensive management has disappeared. The Juniper network efficiently and securely supports both IT and OT operations.
The Products
AP43
The Juniper AP43 high-performance Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) access point integrates patented virtual Bluetooth® LE (vBLE) and Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities to deliver an unprecedented user experiences.
Wi-Fi Assurance
Driven by Mist AI and machine learning, the Juniper Mist Wi-Fi Assurance cloud service automates troubleshooting and operations. It ensures wireless networks are predictable, reliable, and measurable while providing near-real-time visibility into service levels.
With a robust portfolio of SDN-enabled routers, the MX Series provides industry-leading system capacity, density, security, and performance with unparalleled longevity.
The EX Series Ethernet Switches are cloud-ready, high-performance access and aggregation/core layer switches designed for enterprise branch, campus, and data center networks. Wired access networks don’t have to be complex—you can reduce risk and cost without compromising performance, quality, and innovation.
Protect your network edge, data center, and cloud applications with Juniper’s next-generation physical, virtual, and containerized firewalls. They’re all managed via Juniper Security Director Cloud for a unified management experience and consistent security policy enforcement.
Published December 2022