United Oil, a large fueling station services company, provides a wide variety of retail station design and branding, customer experience services, and wholesale fuel sales and services to Shell, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and United Oil-branded stations.
Its initial deployment of EDS 1100, [image-nocss] a hybrid Ethernet terminal/multiport device server, will enable remote access to gasoline storage tanks for data collection and analysis at 70 Shell stations in southern California.
United Oil faced the challenge of implementing and managing its remote access infrastructure. Prior to implementing Lantronix' ManageLinx and EDS 1100 solution, it had to deploy separate routers and firewalls for each locationconfigured specifically for a station's unique location and network. This resulted in dozens of different user interfaces, reporting systems, network configurations and support issues as a result of managing disparate systems.
United Oil required a much simpler solution to match the needs of its large, expanding business, it said.
"A key driver for our business is the ability to effectively manage our customers' fuel inventory with as little stress on station-owner resources as possible," said Don Bridinger, IT Manager at United Oil. "This will also free up our employees to focus on what's most important to our companyreinforcing our 'I Got It' culture and customer service attitude that has made us a successful enterprise."
The first phase of the Lantronix' ManageLinx and EDS 1100 implementation centralizes the management function and enables deployment across multiple stations for gas tank level monitoring. Highlights of the project include: Rapid Connectivity Deployment: Remote access in a hostile environment, enabling quick and easy deployment. Built-in Scalability: ManageLinx with EDS 1100 was designed to easily scale, to meet future growth needs for United Oil. The EDS 1100s will be configured at headquarters and shipped out to customer locations, ensuring plug-and-play installation.
"United Oil is a perfect example of a business model ideally suited for ManageLinx -- disparate business units with a wide variety of new and legacy systems, some networked-enabled and some notall requiring the sharing of sensitive, mission-critical data with a headquarters location," said Lantronix president and CEO Jerry Chase.
ManageLinx is an M2M (machine-to-machine) communications solution that provides secure remote Internet access to virtually any piece of IP-enabled equipmenteven behind remote firewalls or VPNs.
Irvine, Calif.-based Lantronix is a global leader of secure communication technologies that simplify remote access, management and control of any electronic device. Its solutions empower businesses to make better decisions based on real-time information, and gain a competitive advantage by generating new revenue streams, improving productivity and increasing efficiency and profitability. Lantronix products remotely connect and control electronic equipment via the Internet, provide secure remote access to firewall-protected equipment and enable remote management of IT equipment over the Internet.
El Segundo, Calif.-based United Oil operates more than 120 gas stations throughout southern California.
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