Micro Center

Background

Micro Center has long established itself as a premier destination for technology enthusiasts and gamers alike. Specializing in build-your-own PC solutions, Micro Center offers a unique, hands-on retail experience across the United States. Unlike typical online stores, customers can interact directly with PC components—testing, touching, and consulting knowledgeable staff on everything from graphics cards to motherboards. This unmatched retail experience requires robust technology behind the scenes to seamlessly handle everything from point-of-sale (POS) systems and staff training to customer interactions and device demonstrations.

Chris Hayes, Systems and Infrastructure Manager at Micro Center, explained the company's dedication to an exceptional customer experience:

With ambitious plans for growth, Micro Center recognized that standardizing its network infrastructure across all locations was essential for delivering a consistently excellent customer and employee experience.

Business Objectives

Standardization Across All Locations Prior to adopting UniFi, MicroCenter utilized Cisco networking equipment and various solutions across different locations, resulting in increased complexity and inconsistency.

Chris highlighted the importance of network standardization, saying:

Ensuring Redundant Connectivity Due to the nature of retail, especially technology retail, any network downtime directly impacts sales and customer satisfaction. Micro Center required a resilient network that provided redundancy to ensure continuous operation of POS systems, credit authorizations, customer lookups, and device demonstrations—even in the event of internet disruptions.

Robust and Reliable Infrastructure With hundreds of devices on display and heavy data requirements from in-store service departments—such as diagnosing customer equipment, software installations, and more—Micro Center needed a network capable of reliably supporting substantial, continuous bandwidth demands.

Why UniFi

License-Free Model UniFi’s licensing-free structure was a key factor in Micro Center’s decision. Eliminating annual license fees traditionally associated with enterprise solutions significantly lowered the overall cost of network ownership. Chris emphasized the cost-effective advantage: "UniFi gives us a cost-effective means to provide reliable network solutions throughout our stores without ongoing license costs."

Unified, Scalable Hardware Stack The standardized UniFi deployment blueprint includes:

Deployment & Implementation

Micro Center began its deployment strategy by upgrading its Columbus, Ohio location—a critical store near their corporate headquarters. The goal was to perfect the deployment strategy close to home, then replicate this blueprint across future stores.

Columbus: Overnight Network Transformation The Columbus migration was executed during a single overnight window, between store closing at 9:00 PM and the morning delivery trucks at 6:00 AM. This rapid deployment involved systematically replacing legacy Cisco equipment with pre-configured UniFi devices.

Miami: A Fresh Deployment Blueprint Micro Center’s next major deployment in Miami served as the first clean build fully standardized on UniFi from the ground up. With lessons learned from Columbus, the Miami deployment involved rigorous pre-staging and testing, streamlining the entire process.

Key UniFi Features in Retail

Site Manager: Real-Time Visibility UniFi’s Site Manager offers critical features for centralized administration. Chris highlighted two particular capabilities:

• Instant Device Lookup: Quickly locate any connected device by MAC address
• Dynamic VLAN Configuration: Immediately switch VLANs for different devices or services, ideal for last-minute adjustments, especially for camera deployments

Advanced Wi-Fi Management The graphical Wi-Fi planning tool within UniFi allows Micro Center to strategically deploy access points, ensuring optimal coverage without channel interference.

Looking Ahead: Future Deployments and Innovation

Micro Center’s upcoming Santa Clara, California location will follow the established UniFi blueprint tested in Columbus and perfected in Miami. This continued standardization ensures scalability and consistency as Micro Center expands further.

Chris also shared plans for integrating advanced UniFi Enterprise ECS switches into their retail and data center environments.

Additionally, Micro Center anticipates potential enhancements like SD-WAN capabilities through UniFi's Site Magic solution, further solidifying redundancy and performance for critical transactions and systems.

Results & Benefits

• Unified Network Infrastructure: Simplified troubleshooting, standardized training, and predictable performance across locations.
• Reduced Operating Costs: Eliminating annual licensing fees created significant ongoing savings.
• Enhanced Network Reliability: Near-zero downtime with LTE backup, ensuring smooth customer experiences and uninterrupted store operations.

Conclusion

Micro Center’s partnership with UniFi demonstrates the transformative impact of adopting a unified, scalable, and cost-effective networking platform in the demanding retail technology environment. Through carefully planned deployments in Columbus and Miami—and upcoming standardization in Santa Clara—Micro Center has established a robust network foundation that supports both their current operations and ambitious growth.

As Micro Center continues to expand, UniFi remains the strategic choice, ensuring every customer experiences the exceptional, hands-on service that defines the Micro Center brand.