When we talk about digitization and "There's Never Been a Better Time", the assumption is that we're only talking about the future-and putting aside the past.

That's not true.

The city of Biel, Switzerland has been settled for hundred of years, but they are getting in on digitization too. For older cities, this can be quite an undertaking, but the rewards are rich.

The network administrators in Biel were faced with two problems: manage a network in an old building that hasn't been updated in years and proactively address the city's future needs. That's not easy when you're talking about a network that supports 2,400 employees over 60 locations -including 20 schools.

Thomas Bodenmann, CTO, City of Biel says that he chose Cisco because it allows them to leverage their existing foundation for future initiatives.

What Biel needed was an uncomplicated network that is scalable enough to meet any future demands. Armed with Cisco Catalyst 6800 Series and Nexus 5000 Series switches along with Cisco 5508 Wireless Controllers and the Cisco Catalyst Virtual Switching System, Bodenmann and his network engineers were able to create a robust wireless network backbone.

Once that backbone is in place, network administrators can work on making sure that the rest of the city is connected and communication can be delivered with ease. For example, the city's ambulance division has already received network services and it has worked out so well that other divisions are requesting the same. Biel is pleased with the way that their improvements have been received and are on record as saying that they anticipate growing their wireless network.

"We plan to implement Cisco ASR 920 Series Aggregation Services Router to push MPLS on a Layer 3 architecture," said Bodenmann. "Cisco's robust portfolio of solutions will help us reach the next level in the quality and responsiveness of our services."

To date, the upgrades have saved the City of Biel a lot of time and money, making the program a big success.

Saving time and money, while planning for a more connected future? Sounds like there was never a better time for the City of Biel to upgrade its networks!

To read more about this case study, click here.