Case Study: ASM SMT achieves faster WAN performance, greater agility, and lower costs with Cato Networks

ASM SMT Boosts WAN Performance and Agility, Cuts Costs with Cato

ASM SMT, a global supplier of Surface Mount Technology solutions, struggled with a costly, slow-to-provision WAN built on MPLS with a meshed VPN and multiple edge security appliances. Long lead times for connectivity (up to 180 days in some countries), complex multi-vendor management, and regional firewall performance constraints made it hard to maintain agility and performance, so ASM SMT evaluated SD‑WAN options and selected Cato Networks’ SD‑WAN solution and VPN client.

Cato Networks implemented a proof-of-concept and then a phased rollout, using BGP for seamless cutover and providing built-in WAN optimization, security, and a global backbone. The POC delivered more than 100% performance improvement versus MPLS, enabled higher bandwidth between sites, reduced packet loss for VoIP/video, sped deployment (minimal outages), and simplified remote access for hundreds of users during COVID — all while lowering TCO and improving support responsiveness.

ASM SMT

Ian Bleazard

ASM SMT IT Director of Infrastructure and Analytics