TEXARKANA, Texas -- EZ-Mart Stores Inc.a convenience store and petroleum retailer with more than 300 stores throughout Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texashas completed the installation by Cyberaa Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS)-based managed service providerof a secure, multi-site broadband MPLS network.
The network reduces E-Z Mart's costs by allowing simultaneous direct connections to transaction processors for Shell, ConocoPhillips and CITGO branded sites and its unbranded locations while reducing the cost of dedicated telephone [image-nocss] data lines and credit card fees.
Additionally, E-Z Mart has already realized productivity and efficiency gains from the Cybera network infrastructure that have almost completely offset its cost, at added benefit to the previously installed and limited-functionality satellite connectivity (VSAT).
Prior to Cybera's involvement, Texarkabna, Texas-based E-Z Mart had no centralized network and relied on slow dialup connections from local exchange carriersto transmit store data such as transactions, inventory, and routine sales reportscombined with VSAT for credit card processing. The new, PCI-compliant Cybera SmartNetwork connects E-Z Mart's sites at broadband speeds, allowing for more efficient credit and debit card processing, while reducing transaction costs and IT overhead. The SmartNetwork also cut transaction times from 20 seconds to fewer than five seconds for authorization, enhancing customer satisfaction.
The Cybera project management team supervised the entire network rollout, from the design of a secure, Shell Coolband-certified network, to the provisioning of circuits for each site's required bandwidth, while providing ongoing management of the network aligned with E-Z Mart's business requirements.
Cybera also took responsibility for managing the third-party vendors involved in the installations, taking that burden off E-Z Mart's help desk and cutting down on wasted site visits and avoidable rescheduling fees. The entire solution is PCI compliant, which has helped E-Z Mart's IT staff address credit card security requirements.
Franklin, Tenn.-based Cybera's custom design includes access technologies ranging from MPLS T-1s to business-grade DSL, delivering connections to a private MPLS+ core. Also, E-Z Mart chose to directly connect to the secure data center of its transaction processors, including Shell and Chase Paymentech, with Cybera's Merchant Services Gateway.
The new Cybera SmartNetwork also provides secure access for E-Z Mart's IT help desk and vendors to remotely support, update and maintain their in-store applications, such as POS, money order, tank monitoring, backoffice applications and video surveillance systems.
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