Barnet Council – Mobile Library
Background
The London Borough of Barnet has the second largest population of the 33 London boroughs, estimated at 328,600 and expected to reach 355,200 by 2016 (figures from Office for National Statistics). The Council recognised that in order to appeal to as many people as possible it’s essential that they offer the most up to date services supported by knowledgeable staff and the best technology. This led to an investment of over £1million in the London Borough of Barnet Mobile Library Service as well as work starting to refurbish libraries and introduce RFID self-service systems, public wireless access and a new library computer system.
This system would ensure that best use is made of all stock resources, including the mobile service, by making it easier to swop stock between libraries, keep track of what is most popular and identify any gaps in coverage. The mobile libraries were to offer internet services to local residents as well as training that required a connected network both inside the bus and back to HQ.
Journey
To ensure that the mobile library bus has reliable and secure live access to this system is vital: the project team evaluated several options and conducted extensive trials of OptiBond. The purpose built OptiBond appliance can be pre-configured with a secure Virtual Private Network to provide instant secure data connectivity at your remote sites. The fully managed service includes a help desk and remote diagnostics to quickly resolve any networking issues. In the unlikely event of a hardware fault the service includes the supply of a pre-configured replacement appliance, shipped direct to site.
Outcome
OptiBond performed favourably, providing fast internet with minimum latency and downtime, and the success of the trials led to the implementation of OptiBond for the library change initiative. EMS specialises in improving productivity by supplying cost effective, instant secure data connectivity at remote and temporary locations. The OptiBond appliance uses two independent cellular connections that are combined to provide redundancy, super-fast download speeds and low latency. Data transfer speeds of 3.6Mbps (7.2Mbps ready) are possible with HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access).
“Our requirement needed a tailored solution to take into account the demands of the library system. EMS went the extra mile with us, the results of latency tests were very good and the extra configuration of the networking was undertaken without any fuss.” Jon Clark, London Borough of Barnet
EMS specialises in improving productivity by supplying cost effective, instant secure data connectivity at remote and temporary locations.EMS created OptiBond which simultaneously bonds different cellular networks plus ADSL / satellite. OptiBond is a complete internet solution enabling up to six WAN connections and up to five concurrent VPN connections and operates as a local server to enable printing, file share & network connectivity.