For Poderi Dal Nespoli A project Cisco UCC “DOC” di VEM sistemi

On the border between Romagna and Tuscany, a historic winery leverages more than eighty years of tradition to launch a cutting-edge business model based on managerial insight, environmental responsibility, and advanced ICT solutions.

Poderi Dal Nespoli is a winery located in Romagna, near the Tuscan border, dedicated to producing quality wines since 1929. This long-standing tradition reflects a deep connection to the region and to its native grape varieties, from the renowned Sangiovese to the typical Pagadebit. Yet, Poderi Dal Nespoli has successfully combined its heritage with a forward-looking vision.

The managerial approach with which the company now faces the market has allowed it to stand out as a business strongly focused on innovation—starting with technologies that reduce environmental impact through heat and water recovery and the use of solar energy. This is complemented by state-of-the-art production systems and machinery, as well as experimental work with non-native grape varieties.

But that’s not all. Poderi Dal Nespoli has also transformed its operations, improving employee workflows through the adoption of next-generation communication and collaboration tools.

Thanks to the consultancy of VEM Sistemi, the winery integrated a Cisco unified communication and collaboration solution, which—by facilitating communication among people even in locations difficult to reach with traditional technology—has boosted productivity without increasing the complexity of infrastructure management.

Challenge

The leap in quality that brought Poderi Dal Nespoli’s production to 5 million bottles per year coincided with the company’s entry into the Mondodelvino Spa group, a true network of Italian winemaking excellence. From its operational headquarters in Priocca, near Alba and in the heart of Piedmont’s winemaking tradition, the group brings together and distributes some of the most renowned and prestigious national brands.

Poderi Dal Nespoli needed to upgrade its Information & Communication Technology infrastructure in line with the growth trend it was experiencing—driven in part by the modernization of its production model. “The company was completely different before, with the typical traits of traditional local wineries and a very underdeveloped IT component,” explains Matteo Berchialla, ICT Manager at Mondodelvino.“The new managerial direction redefined the business model while maintaining the product’s quality and the brand’s tradition.”

Such significant growth required a communication and collaboration system that could match the new production standards.
Poderi Dal Nespoli had transformed into a fully integrated winery, including both production and bottling, with a facility so extensive that it required a wired and wireless network coverage project capable of connecting both PCs and phones with maximum flexibility and reliability.Only a converged infrastructure would allow for easier management and a decisive cost reduction, compared to maintaining separate environments for IT systems and voice communications.

 Solution

nnovation for its own sake is not part of the DNA of Poderi Dal Nespoli. Every decision stems from a clearly defined evaluation within the management’s strategy, and is then translated into technology by the team managing the IT systems.“With the support of VEM Sistemi, we compared various solutions available on the market,” explains Berchialla.
“Thanks to their consultancy, we chose a complete Cisco infrastructure solution for networking and Unified Communication and Collaboration.”

The project involved setting up a new network infrastructure composed of Cisco switching and routing devices. The performance of the wired component extends to all operational and public areas of the company—from the cellars to the showrooms and offices—thanks to the wireless network and Cisco Access Points, which enable secure access from any company device.

The multi-service network also includes IP telephony, for which Poderi Dal Nespoli chose both desktop and wireless Cisco IP Phones. The unified communication and collaboration infrastructure is managed through Cisco Unified Communications Manager, a platform that enables the most effective user experience in an integrated voice, network, and data environment.

“With the integration of Poderi Dal Nespoli into Mondodelvino, it became increasingly urgent to enable colleagues in Forlì to communicate and collaborate daily with the Group’s headquarters in Priocca,” adds Berchialla.
“The network had to be highly reliable, considering that company services and resources, such as the ERP application, are hosted in the Piedmont-based Data Center, which requires continuous VPN connectivity.”Among the upcoming projects, the Cisco Unified Communications Manager server is also being considered for the Priocca headquarters, allowing phone calls to run over the IP network as well—resulting in additional savings by eliminating internal call charges, while also enhancing collaboration among colleagues.

Benefits

erfectly in line with the benefits achieved through more industrialized production processes, the new technology platform based on Cisco unified communication and collaboration—implemented with the support of VEM Sistemi—has also contributed to the company’s growth.
A more collaborative environment is synonymous with efficiency and productivity; it’s easier to reach colleagues by phone and to take full advantage of the numerous features offered by Cisco Unified Communications Manager—including voice and video call management, instant messaging, mobile device integration, and web conferencing systems.

The Wi-Fi network also enables seamless communication across the entire company site, with no disruptions when switching between Access Points.
Cisco’s wireless infrastructure will also allow smartphones to be used as corporate cordless phones, pushing the capabilities of the Cisco platform beyond traditional limits.
Moreover, the scalability of the infrastructure enables the addition of more Access Points as the company grows, offering maximum flexibility.

“Today, companies like ours can no longer afford to do without a modern communication and collaboration system,” says Berchialla.
“These are essential solutions to meet the needs of a constantly evolving sector.”

The choice of Cisco proved to be as successful as the role played by VEM Sistemi. “VEM has proven to be an indispensable partner—not only from a technological standpoint but also by providing business consulting,” concludes Berchialla. “In projects like ours, which touch on various aspects of IT, VEM Sistemi provides a specialist for every technological need. This allowed us to approach our company’s transformation process with greater confidence.”