Cellro is a leading developer and manufacturer of robot automation for the machining industry. The company’s foundation is the idea that your automation should be futureproof. Cellro systems, such as Xcelerate, are therefore easily adaptable. Remote access via IXON Cloud helps them work more efficiently and to serve their customers faster in a secure way.
Service is the number one focus at Cellro. Providing customers with the best service, for example by supporting operators or solving software issues, is one of their most important activities.
Years ago, Cellro started working with a remote access solution to provide better service and increase customer satisfaction. 'As Cellro kept growing we ran into an issue with the limited number of users that could be invited. Our growth resulted in an increased number of employees and dealers requiring access,' says Dirk van Manen, Software Engineer Products at Cellro.
One solution was to share accounts amongst users. But this greatly increases security risks. Cellro needed a solution that allowed for more user accounts – so everyone has their own account, no more sharing login credentials, and multiple users can work together on one project at the same time. All the more important was a user management system in which they could assign colleagues and dealers to specific access groups. A must for secure collaboration.
Cellro decided to standardise with IXON Cloud for remote access because it offers a great opportunity to take their service to the next level and increase customer satisfaction. Not only during the warranty period, but also after that, during the entire lifecycle of their automations. The choice for IXON was not only made because of its costfree user management system and unlimited users, but also because of the ease of use and security measures and approach.
Cellro can set up and adjust user access as desired. In addition to their own service team, their dealers also provide support. Dealers get limited access to devices of their respective customers, so they can only access what they need.
Customers are sometimes a little suspicious about using a cloud solution, but they are usually quickly convinced of the IXON Cloud. Cellro shows them how security is arranged in the IXrouter and IXON Cloud with help of IXON’s security whitepaper.
'There are regular audits, they have different security certificates, the IXrouter has a built-in firewall, and you can make 2FA mandatory,' says Dirk.
Dirk also wants to emphasise the importance of security: 'As a machine builder and system integrator, it’s really necessary to concern yourself with security. You don't want to run the risk that something goes wrong and affects the customer. IXON takes care of a big part of security, but it’s still important to be aware of what security entails.'
Managing your machines and equipment remotely? Take security seriously!
Dirk van Manen – Software Engineer Products at Cellro
Remote access helped Cellro improve the quality of their service offering and resulted in even happier customers. Dirk states: 'The mobile app helps me to work more efficiently. Via the VNC server I can quickly access the HMI remotely and see what happens at the machine’s site, wherever I am. This means faster service for the customer, and an optimally performing machine.'
Service & Software Engineer Michel van Kleinwee says: 'We can solve 90% of issues remotely. The remaining 10% that needs to be solved at the customer’s location can be solved more targeted. Since we can look into the operating software beforehand, we know what’s happening in the machine, and what tools to bring to solve the issue. It’s also a great benefit that multiple people can look at the same problem simultaneously.'
'We would like to continue improving our service department by switching from ad hoc support to proactive and eventually preventive service. Our goal is to unburden our customers by scheduling service in advance. Moreover, we’re considering offering a service level agreement (SLA) to our customers to record agreements. This way, we can guarantee our customers a certain level of service and retain customer relationships,' says Dirk.
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