Customer Success Story
Juniper Mist Wi-Fi drives digital transformation at JA Group Osaka
JA Osaka Densan Center is the central IT service arm of JA Group Osaka, a collective of Japanese cooperatives promoting sustainable farming and community coexistence. JA Group offers agricultural financial, and mutual aid products and services through its nearly 700 regional cooperatives and related organizations.
Overview
| Company | JA Osaka Densan |
| Industry | Agriculture, Service Provider, Technology |
| Products used | AP32, Wi-Fi Assurance |
| Region | APAC |
DX
Collaboration and meetings supported with AI-driven Wi-Fi
Reliable
Wireless networking, equivalent to wired network uptime
100%
Visibility into users’ Wi-Fi connection status
Secure
Multitenant IT services delivered to support JA Group’s organizations
Modernize IT services for future-ready business
JA Group executives and staff wanted to transition to web meetings and online collaboration tools that would allow them to work in an increasingly paper-free environment. Employees and visitors wanted a mobile-first environment for connecting their tablets, laptops, and smartphones.
A non-negotiable goal was that the performance, security, and reliability of the wireless network needed to match—or exceed—that of the wired network. At the same time, the IT team wanted to take advantage of automation to streamline supporting and troubleshooting the Wi-Fi network.
"Our company wanted a paperless meeting system using tablets, along with a Wi-Fi environment in meeting rooms, but we mainly used a wired LAN in work areas,” says Masayuki Nishimura of the Planning Department at JA Osaka. “Building a Wi-Fi environment that met our different groups’ security, performance, and operational needs was challenging."
AI simplifies operation management
JA Osaka chose the Juniper Mist wireless access solution for increased visibility into network and user connectivity metrics, automated troubleshooting, and exceptional experiences that would lead JA Group’s different organizations toward digital transformation.
"Juniper Mist enables sophisticated operations by leveraging the latest technologies," says Koji Yoshikawa, Deputy Director of the Planning Department at JA Osaka.
Juniper AP32 access points work in conjunction with Juniper cloud services, driven by Mist AI, providing fast, reliable, and secure Wi-Fi for employee and visitor devices. Juniper cloud services, including Juniper Mist Wi-Fi Assurance and Marvis Virtual Network Assistant, allow IT to visualize and manage the network holistically. The team can proactively detect and resolve problems before users are impacted. Wi-Fi management is simpler and more efficient throughout the organization’s complex, multitenant environment.
"Many Wi-Fi products are unable to provide the same level of stability as the wired LAN, but Juniper Mist provides a stable network environment that’s allowing us to make the office fully wireless,” says Yoshikawa. “The network can be centrally managed across all access points now and wired switches in the future, allowing us to eventually manage the entire LAN environment in a centralized way.”
Digital transformation foundation delivers network stability
Previously, the IT team had no Wi-Fi documentation and operational management was complex, which led to trial-and-error remediation. Since upgrading to Juniper Mist, Wi-Fi connectivity is stable, and the company is achieving its goal of driving digital transformation through web meetings and anytime, anywhere connectivity. Employees easily move between floors without their video sessions or app connections dropping.
Wi-Fi issues are rare, and those that do arise are resolved quickly. When one performance issue came to the help desk recently, for example, the team used Mist AI to promptly determine that a problem with the user’s device was the culprit.
Network management is significantly easier. With Juniper Mist, IT can manage all APs centrally, even for its different groups. Improved visibility and single-pane-of-glass control have greatly improved the IT digital experience.
The benefits of better Wi-Fi are getting lots of attention throughout the JA Group organizations that have gone live, and other groups now want to follow suit to accelerate their own digital—and business—transformation.
The Products
AP32
The Juniper AP32 access point integrates Mist AI for AX capabilities to automate network operation and boost Wi-Fi performance.
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.
Published November 2023