The South African National Blood Service (SANBS), a not-for-profit organisation providing an essential service within South Africa, has renewed an agreement with hybrid IT systems integrator and managed services provider, Datacentrix, to provide a bespoke Wi-Fi solution for its mobile clinics
Savan Marimuthu, senior account manager at Datacentrix (left) and Amit Singh, senior manager, service delivery at SANBS (right) display the bespoke, rugged Wi-Fi units used at SANBS’ mobile clinic sites. (Image source: Datacentrix)
Amit Singh, senior manager of service delivery at SANBS, said, “We had very specific prerequisites for these mobile Wi-Fi units, which seemed like quite a tall order. They needed to be rugged units that could be moved around from clinic to clinic and would not easily be damaged when in transit. We wanted them to be theft and tamper-proof, provide ten hours of battery life and, beyond this, they also needed to be portable enough for our employees to easily carry, transport and set up the units.”
The business outcome was a robust mobile Wi-Fi solution, explained Savan Marimuthu, senior account manager at Datacentrix. “The units were specially customised for SANBS, ticking all of the boxes. Built using military-grade material, they are waterproof, extremely compact, weighing in at just 4.5 kilograms and have a long-life battery.”
In addition, they come fitted with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) protocol for wireless and cellular network communication services, added Frederik van Staden, senior consultant, WAN and ISP Services at Datacentrix company, eNetworks, an ISP and network specialist. “The units are easy to use, with GPS location tracking in real-time, and provide excellent coverage, even in outlying areas. As a vendor-agnostic partner, eNetworks was able to look at where SANBS’ mobile clinics were situated and plan for the best LTE coverage. As part of the service, SANBS has access to an online portal, which provides insights on traffic as well as how and where data is being consumed.”
“By opting for Datacentrix’ mobile-as-a-service option, SANBS has been provided with an innovative solution with no requirement for capital outlay, a 24-hour service level agreement (SLA), as well as annual refurbishment of the equipment,” Van Staden said.
