Ensuring Network Continuity: Cabela’s

Duration: 2:14 minutes

From its beginnings as a small business selling fishing lures through newspaper classified ads, Cabela’s^® has evolved into the world’s largest mail order, retail, and Internet outdoor outfitter. With an extensive product line that includes hunting, fishing, and camping gear, outdoor apparel, and accessories, Cabela’s retail stores rank among the most popular tourist attractions for their museum-quality wildlife displays, large aquariums, and entertainment-style shopping atmosphere.

But even a company that started as a home business must continue to keep pace with the growing demands of its thriving operations and the ever-changing needs of its customers. On any given day, more than 20,000 customers walk through a single Cabela’s location. Even a few minutes of network downtime could severely disrupt the flow of business. Should the primary connection become unavailable at any of these sites, the store would be unable to conduct transactions or perform critical business functions, such as accepting credit card payments and running point-of-sale and inventory management applications, resulting in unrecoverable financial losses.

With so much at stake, Cabela’s needed to back up its primary communications network with a cost-effective solution to ensure uninterrupted service at its U.S.-based retail stores.

For a job this big, Cabela’s turned to Hughes Network Systems, the global leader in providing broadband satellite networks and services for large enterprises, governments, small businesses and consumers. Hughes equipped Cabela’s with its HughesNet^® Access Continuity Solutions, an always available, completely diverse backup connectivity option, and the company has been luring in nature enthusiasts ever since.

HughesNet Access Continuity Solutions is a high-performance broadband satellite networking service with ubiquitous coverage and high speeds that acts as an insurance policy against costly
downtime caused by network outages. This allows Cabela’s to continue to serve in-store customers, fulfill online and catalog orders, and transport goods, without having to rely solely on terrestrial providers for their network connections.

“When customers come into a Cabela’s store, they expect top-notch service,” said Phil O’Boyle, Cabela’s event manager. “We can’t give our customers a top-notch experience if we have
downtime.”

With HughesNet, when a remote site detects a primary network connection outage, the HughesNet Access Continuity Solution is automatically engaged. Policy-based routing automatically switches all data traffic to the satellite network to keep the store up and running.

“With HughesNet, we can confidently serve our customers and continue to provide up-to-date product information and accurate inventory, secure in the knowledge that critical information will always be available,” said O’Boyle.

Rapid Deployment: The Unexpected Bonus

Originally intended as a backup service, the HughesNet Access Continuity Solution also acts as the primary network service during new store construction—enabling Cabela’s to get new stores up and running 30 to 45 days earlier than with terrestrial connectivity.

As O’Boyle explained, “Because the HughesNet system can be deployed and installed quickly—in a matter of days—Cabela’s has incorporated the installation into the build process of its new retail stores. Until the primary terrestrial network is provisioned, HughesNet functions as the primary network.”

This added bonus assures Cabela’s that terrestrial provisioning delays will not affect a new store opening. Once the terrestrial network is established, the HughesNet Access Continuity Solution switches to its role as a backup network.

Staying on Schedule: Reeling in Customers and Revenue

“HughesNet gives us peace of mind. No matter how remote our new store location might be, we can count on HughesNet to allow us to open on schedule, bringing our unique products to nature lovers everywhere,” said O’Boyle.

For a company that went from selling fishing lures to luring millions of loyal customers, it’s safe to say that Cabela’s, backed by its HughesNet Access Continuity Solution, will continue to reel in outdoor lovers, regardless of geography, for many years to come.