1. CASE STUDY:
THE WEATHER NETWORK
COMPANY
Pelmorex Media Inc.,
Parent Company of
The Weather Network
and MétéoMédia
INDUSTRY
Media
LOCATIONS
Oakville ON
Montréal PQ BACKGROUND
The Weather Network and MétéoMédia are dedicated to providing viewers with
SIZE up-to-date meteorological information around the clock, every day of the year.
375 + Their global forecasts are available across several media platforms, providing
Canadians with the weather information they need to plan their day and
beyond. Through their Commercial Services division, The Weather Network and
PRODUCT SOLUTION MétéoMédia also deliver weather monitoring solutions to a variety of markets
and industries such as transportation, energy, municipalities and media.
Fibre Internet for Business
CHALLENGE
The Weather Network aims to be “the best weather and weather-related
content and information provider in Canada.” As one of Canada’s largest
websites in terms of traffic generated, they require a systems backbone that
allows them to fulfill their commitment of round-the-clock availability.
Originally, the project requirements called for redundant data connectivity, with
both a primary loop and a redundant loop feeding into the Oakville facility from
diverse geographic locations. In addition, the timeframes for implementing
the solution were tight. The Weather Network was moving from their current
Mississauga facility to a new one in Oakville over the course of a weekend. Their
mandate was to remain fully operational for the end user, with no business
interruptions as a result of the move.
ONE CONNECTION. INFINITE POSSIBILITIES.™
2. SOLUTION
Rogers Business Solutions (formerly Blink Communications)
partnered with The Weather Network to provide a
solution that is both scalable and reliable. By assessing
The Weather Network’s requirements, Rogers Business
Solutions (RBS) developed an understanding of the mission
critical business activities.
It became clear that not only did The Weather Network
require both a primary and redundant loop to mitigate
a catastrophe on one of the links, but they also needed
to be able to scale their bandwidth as website traffic
fluctuated, much like the weather itself. Inclement
weather meant that more people would visit the site
for the most up-to-date information, and outbound
traffic could climb up to 800 Mbps. The ability to scale They listened to our requirements
bandwidth to meet capacity needs was an integral part
of the solution.
which were very challenging, and they
committed themselves to deliver.
To handle the internet traffic, RBS implemented a dual link
Mounir Semghouni, Director IT Networks
fibre business internet diverse route solution. The primary link
provides The Weather Network with 400 Mbps Internet
to support their push technology for weather reports
and their website, as well as mobile applications. They also
have the ability to switch one of the links from passive to EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
active mode, allowing them to meet accelerating capacity Rogers Business Solutions took the time to understand The
requirements on demand. The Weather Network’s traffic Weather Network’s challenges, and were able to connect
continues to increase since the installation of the fibre their new location one month before the assigned deadline.
connection, and the option to increase overall bandwidth We even helped them move to their facilities in one weekend,
requirements allows for completely seamless growth to and systems remained fully operational for their consumers.
occur at any time, providing both reliability and a high
level of peace of mind to The Weather Network. “We have The success of this project and their satisfaction with
a very good relationship,” says Mounir Semghouni, Director our partnership prompted Pelmorex to renew their
IT Networks, “and if we need more bandwidth it will be service agreement with RBS for another five years at
provisioned in a very short time.” both their Oakville (The Weather Network) and Montréal
(MétéoMédia) locations. As Mounir Semghouni, Director
IT Networks puts it, “Why would we move to another
company? They are meeting all of our expectations and helping
us to grow. I am personally very happy to work with the
BUSINESS BENEFITS Rogers Business Solutions team because they listen to us
and they make it happen. We see a difference between
• Assessed the client’s project requirements RBS and our other service providers. We can rely on RBS.”
to understand the mission critical business
activities.
ABOUT RBS
• Eliminated business interruptions by developing
Rogers Business Solutions (RBS) employs leading-edge
a robust infrastructure solution capable of
technology to provide voice, data, IP and Ethernet
handling extreme situations.
solutions to small, medium and large enterprises across
• Developed network connectivity that is flexible, a vast spectrum of sectors and industries as well as
future-ready and scalable up to 10 Gbps, to domestic and international carriers. RBS operates its
resulting in an unparalleled customer experience own robust facilities-based, transcontinental fibre optic
for website users. network and is committed to providing flexible, scalable
and reliable products and services to meet your evolving
business needs.
www.RogersBusinessSolutions.com