BARBEQUES GALORE
Improving Network Operations for Barbeques Galore
How a long-standing partnership ensures a barbeque retailer has the technology they need to keep the fires burning no matter what challenges come their way.
The Challenge and Opportunity
The Barbeques Galore team needed a dependable solution across its roughly 20 locations from a single vendor to ensure it had the network and communication solutions required to maintain its high level of customer service and could grow along with the organization.
Quick Fact
During the pandemic, the Barbeques Galore team saw more people shopping online, leading to the retailer becoming an e-commerce powerhouse.
The Solution
Working with Barbeques Galore, TPx has successfully implemented a comprehensive technology suite of internet, SD-WAN, firewall, and communications solutions that meet the organization’s evolving mission.
The Benefits
Working with TPx to deploy worry-free managed services, the Barbeques Galore team improved its efficiency and productivity and gained expert resources that are just a phone call away when needed.
The Results
Barbeques Galore and TPx have forged an enduring alliance for the better part of a decade, consistently delivering remarkable outcomes. Barbeques Galore has experienced a noticeable decrease in downtime thanks to TPx’s SD-WAN and networking solutions.
About Barbeques Galore
Barbeques Galore launched in 1980 as a humble brick-and-mortar store with a simple love for barbecuing and a desire to share that passion for the grill with everyone. The company quickly grew, stretching its footprint across California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and eventually nationwide through its e-commerce platform. Today, the company is the nation’s largest specialty retailer of grills and outdoor living products. Amidst this success, Barbeques Galore continues fulfilling its original promise: providing the best outdoor cooking and living products.
“Having TPx’s services across multiple locations has been a game-changer for us. Whenever we have a question, we pick up the phone and call TPx. If anything looks like it might impact our operations, they take swift action by sending someone out to fix it or escalating to a local provider. They have dedicated project managers who will contact us for updates and questions and to make sure they deliver on time.”
Thomas Mak, IT Manager, Barbeques Galore
The Challenge
Over his two-decade tenure in the IT industry, Thomas Mak has witnessed significant changes in the technology landscape from increasingly complex systems to a rise in cyber threats. As the IT landscape evolved, keeping the retailer’s infrastructure secure and operating smoothly became a pressing concern. As the IT Manager for Barbeques Galore, Mak understands the importance of providing his customers and colleagues with a reliable technology system that functions seamlessly under any circumstance.
Fortunately, in the face of challenges, Mak has the support of a trusted partner — TPx — ready to assist when any problems arise. This partnership provides Barbeques Galore with the peace of mind and assurance necessary to tackle technological challenges with confidence.
Mak emphasized the critical role connectivity plays in the company’s operations. “With all our stores and servers connected to a centralized location, having a reliable network is really important. Stores have to be online to process transactions, check inventory, and maintain accurate pricing information,” Mak said.
A Comprehensive Solution
Since Barbeques Galore has 20 office and store locations, plus their e-commerce experience, it can’t afford for the quality of its services to vary from one location to the next. To achieve this level of consistency, Barbeques Galore relies on TPx for a comprehensive range of services, encompassing more than a dozen critical elements such as managed networks, internet and phone, colocation and firewall services.
With their growing e-commerce operation, having reliable phone support is critical. Barbeques Galore leverages TPx’s cloud-based UCx SmartVoice solution, which provides quality voice to support better customer interactions and drive increased productivity. And because the specialty retailer pairs this solution with TPx’s leading-edge SD-WAN capability, Barbeques Galore benefits from maximum uptime and guaranteed network performance that creates seamless enterprise connectedness within the cloud.
With TPx’s comprehensive suite of services, Barbeques Galore can rest assured that their operations remain consistent and secure, regardless of their location or online presence. To ensure the security of their network, the retailer implemented TPx’s Managed Firewall service. “Everything is more internet-based and more vulnerable because it’s online. The most important is always going to be security,” said Mak. The Managed Firewall service helps the business block unauthorized traffic and maximize its control over their network, while helping keep costs low.
Searing Solutions and a Sizzling Partnership
Thanks to their partnership with TPx, Barbeques Galore has a dedicated team of IT professionals available to them 24/7 and who can help them with their ongoing IT needs. TPx worked closely with Barbeques Galore to upgrade a firewall at the colocation approaching its end of life. “They gave me some background on the new recommended firewall and how we can also utilize a new service that TPx has to monitor any intrusion or activities and notify us whenever something suspicious occurs.” Throughout the upgrade process, TPx’s project managers proactively kept them updated and effectively answered their questions.
Barbeques Galore readily embraced TPx’s offerings, finding the overall cost of the upgrade comparable to their previous setup. “We get a newer firewall at a comparable price, and now we have the added benefit of TPx’s Managed Detection and Response (MDR), which enhances our security posture with proactive threat management,” said Mak.
This successful collaboration with TPx continues to empower Barbeques Galore, allowing them to maintain a robust and reliable IT infrastructure, safeguarding their operations and ensuring uninterrupted services to their valued customers. The partnership remains a cornerstone of their commitment to excellence in the ever-evolving world of technology.
Additional Resources
All There is to Know About Managed Firewall Services
Explore everything there is to know about this outsourced management and monitoring of firewall infrastructure. This is how businesses ensure robust protection, stay ahead of emerging threats, and focus on their core operations.
What is SD-WAN? Why You Should Use It
SD-WAN is an innovative technology that revolutionizes how wide area networks are designed and managed. Learn why more and more businesses are now utilizing this modern network architecture.