20 May 2003 London--Global data and IP services provider Equant has signed a five-year, USD29 million contract renewal to provide Electrolux IT Solutions with a global IP VPN connecting 160 sites in 33 countries.
Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Electrolux IT Solutions is the technology arm of Electrolux Group, the world's largest producer of powered domestic appliances.
Equant's IP VPN will handle all the group's network traffic in the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Electrolux has many network connections in Germany, Sweden and the UK. Equant will provide a suite of managed services, including security consultancy, project management and equipment management.
"We outsourced the management of our global network to Equant because it is the only international telecommunications provider with the quality of service and support we require globally to run our business," said Paul Rumble, senior vice-president, Electrolux IT Solutions.
Electrolux will have a single, global IP VPN - instead of many networks meshed together - providing secure, high performance, any-to-any connectivity in a private network environment.
With the ability to prioritise traffic, the client can maximise bandwidth utilisation and optimise performance of business-critical applications, including Lotus Notes for email and group-working applications, and various finance and manufacturing applications, such as JD Edwards business management software.
Electrolux can efficiently integrate new services, such as Voice and Video for IP VPN, which it is considering for the future.
Equant will monitor the network "24-7" and Electrolux executives will have access to service level and real-time reports on network performance via WebVision, Equant's Web-based customer service portal.
Howard Ford, president of Markets and Sales, Equant, said, "We understand how important it is for a multi-national company such as Electrolux to feel confident that its worldwide network is in good hands. Electrolux ITS knows that our global MPLS IP VPN is secure, scaleable and robust enough to support the Group's growth and expansion plans, wherever that may be."