Hughes
Transforming Networks Into Seamless Assets for Business

As businesses continue to evolve and expand, successful managers are always searching for opportunities to optimize their workflows and boost their bottom line. One place to look is their network, which serves as the central nervous system that facilitates seamless communication, data exchange, and operational efficiency.

Recognizing that the pace of growth is closely tied to the capabilities of a company’s IT staff, Hughes emerges as a trusted partner, offering robust managed network services. It ensures that clients' IT departments possess the expertise required to navigate the ever-changing landscape of networking technology. Its mission is to empower clients to focus their IT resources on high-value, strategic initiatives rather than constantly chasing the latest technology trends.

“Our dual role as both an engineering and service provider allows us to deliver a smooth customer experience. We integrate the network seamlessly into our clients' operations, making it practically invisible, so they can focus on driving the business forward without worrying about the IT infrastructure,” says Dan Rasmussen, senior vice president and general manager, enterprise division at Hughes.

With a five-decade history, Hughes began as a networking equipment supplier and has since evolved into a leading managed services provider. Over the past 40 years, active industry engagement has enabled Hughes to understand customer needs and develop tailored solutions for various businesses. Managing more than half a million network sites allows Hughes to foster close customer connections and adapt to industry changes by shifting from site-centric to device-and service-oriented approaches.

What sets Hughes apart is its customer-centric approach, prioritizing customer interests over proprietary solutions. It maintains a technology-agnostic stance grounded in a strong engineering background. Hughes innovates with AIOps and customer portals to facilitate best-of-breed solutions in security, firewalls and infrastructure, ensuring a smooth networking experience.

As a global managed services partner, Hughes specializes in reaching remote locations with technologies like low-earth orbit (LEO), medium-earth orbit (MEO) and geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite connectivity, as well as terrestrial and non-terrestrial (NTN) 5G services.

In response to complex connectivity requirements, especially with cloud-based applications, Hughes adopts versatile and tactical solutions. Hughes leverages market leaders like Netskope for security service edge (SSE) for its application profiling capabilities as well as Cradlepoint, Fortinet, VMware, and Cisco Meraki for on-premises solutions. These solutions allow the company to provide a comprehensive service portfolio, including perimeter protection, endpoint security and advanced features, like managed detection and response (MDR).

Hughes prioritizes the integration of cutting-edge technologies, like secured access service edge (SASE), to secure cloud exchanges while optimizing performance.

The customer experience is also improved with collaborative ordering portals, AIOps and engineering-driven initiatives.

The Hughes Active Power Edge, a power distribution unit designed for managed services, leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to continuously monitor and triage end-point devices by detecting outages on connected network devices and remotely power-cycling devices to mitigate downtown before they can impact business operations.

We integrate the network seamlessly into our clients' operations, making it practically invisible, so they can focus on driving the business forward without worrying about the IT infrastructure

By actively engaging with customers through one-on-one interactions and user groups, Hughes remains attuned to evolving needs in business and technology. Annual engagements serve as vital opportunities to gather customer input, requests, and insights, informing product development.

Recognizing the importance of corporate communication and training for the modern workforce, Hughes offers a range of cloud-based digital signage solutions catering to customer-facing and employee-facing needs. For example, it enables large retailers to deploy break room televisions that serve the dual purpose of entertaining and informing employees and delivering video-based training and corporate messaging.

In a recent project for a major retailer spanning 750 sites, Hughes transformed their existing network infrastructure into a cutting-edge SD-WAN network with a SASE security framework in just six months. This approach ensures adaptability to evolving technology, improving customer interactions and operational efficiency.

Hughes is committed to empowering customers with reliable and seamless networks. It enhances customer experiences and data access through a comprehensive portfolio of services, including ventures into private wireless connectivity, to continually benefit its clients. Through decades of service, Hughes solves real business challenges by implementing agile, scalable, and secure managed services that position businesses for the future.