CDNetworks > Case Studies > CDNetworks helps engineering firm AREP penetrate the Chinese market

CDNetworks helps engineering firm AREP penetrate the Chinese market

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Company Size
1,000+
Region
  • Asia
  • Europe
Country
  • China
  • France
Product
  • China Acceleration
  • Content Acceleration
Tech Stack
  • Content Delivery Network
  • Web Acceleration
Implementation Scale
  • Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
  • Brand Awareness
  • Customer Satisfaction
Technology Category
  • Networks & Connectivity - Network Management & Analysis Software
Applicable Industries
  • Construction & Infrastructure
  • Transportation
Applicable Functions
  • Sales & Marketing
Services
  • Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
About The Customer
AREP, a global subsidiary of French railway operator SNCF, was created to design and build railway stations. Today it has leveraged that expertise to develop modern spaces for all types of areas where people meet, linger, or pass through. AREP’s expertise spans all aspects of urban architecture, including buildings, street furniture, signage, waiting areas, and more. Its experts work on engineering and construction projects for railway stations, public spaces and other hubs, offices, hotels, housing, shopping centres, and technical facilities. The firm has established itself as a key player in the transformation of modern cities. Building on its success at home, the company recently began expanding into China, the Middle East, and Russia. It translated its website from French into Chinese and Russian; customers in the Middle East use its English version.
The Challenge
AREP, a subsidiary of France’s national railway operator SNCF, is an engineering firm involved in all aspects of modern urban architecture. It was founded in 1997 by two architects and engineers, Jean-Marie Duthilleul and Etienne Tricaud, to design urban spaces for not only large metropolitan areas, but also individual districts, neighbourhoods, and streets. The company is known for its skills in designing multimodal railway stations offering a wide array of mobility services for busy travellers. Building these types of structures in dense urban areas requires overcoming major technical challenges while respecting the constraints of what are often heritage sites. Today AREP leverages that know-how to develop effective solutions for other types of urban spaces. With 700 employees from over 30 different countries, AREP’s experts include architects, urban planners, designers, engineers, economists, programmers, project managers, and more. Its engineering and construction projects range from multimodal hubs, railway stations, and other public areas to offices, hotels, housing, shopping centres, and technical facilities.
The Solution
After considering several options, AREP and 404.fr decided it would be easiest to accelerate a static website, with neither a server script nor a database, directly in China. CDNetworks then developed a customised solution with a website hosted in France and accelerated in Russia, China, the Middle East, and the rest of the world. Each of the four versions – French, English, Russian, and Chinese – was given its own domain name. Under this system, the content delivery network queries the server in France from points of presence located around the world, so that content is brought as close as possible to users no matter where they are. This arrangement, with the website centralised in France, also has the advantage of allowing AREP’s France-based Communications Department to keep close control of all the company’s content, especially since the system limits the number of people involved.
Operational Impact
  • A website that can be viewed reliably in China
  • Web performance that reflects the high performance of AREP’s services
  • Smooth website navigation around the world, and especially in China, The Middle East, and Russia
  • Content centralised in France for better control
  • Secure data

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