Case Study: The First National Bank of Long Island achieves stronger bandwidth, improved uptime, and cost savings with Windstream Enterprise's VMware SD‑WAN

New York Bank Strengthens Bandwidth, Enhances Services with VMware SD-WAN

The First National Bank of Long Island, a community bank founded in 1927, needed to modernize aging, slow T1 networks to support digital initiatives, improved customer service, and business expansion across its branches. To address this, the bank engaged Windstream Enterprise to deliver a managed VMware SD-WAN solution (with WE Connect visibility built on VMware SASE) and upgraded primary connections to 100 Mbps business internet.

Windstream Enterprise implemented a fully managed VMware SD-WAN service in 44 locations (41 branches, two data centers, and headquarters) with an active‑active secondary connection and centralized WE Connect management. The deployment delivered better-than-98% uptime, replaced limited 1.5 Mbps T1 lines, enabled video collaboration and remote desktop access for lending partners, simplified branch onboarding and global configuration changes, and generated about USD $80,000 per year in cost savings by eliminating POTS alarm lines—freeing IT to focus on growth for the next several years.

The First National Bank of Long Island

Daniel Viola

VP and Director of Information Technology