Equant wins three-year global IP VPN and IP telephony contract with Gardner Smith
Announcement posted by Equant 31 Oct 2003
Converged voice and data network to connect 180 employees and eight locations around the world
Equant (NYSE: ENT) (Euronext Paris: EQU), a recognized industry leader in global data and IP services for multinational businesses, has signed a three-year contract for IP VPN and IP telephony services with Gardner Smith.
Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Gardner Smith is a global business specializing in the supply of tallow, vegetable oils, liquid feeds and protein meals.
The IP VPN convergent services solution will provide 180 Gardner Smith employees at eight worldwide locations secure, cost-effective data, IP, voice and fax communications over a single high-speed network. The locations include Sydney, Melbourne, regional Victoria, Brisbane, Christchurch, Singapore, Houston and Durbin.
Gardner Smiths existing WAN frame relay contract was approaching renewal and several of its PABXs around the world were nearing the end of their life cycles. Consequently, the company decided to work with Equant toward a managed data network and PABX replacement solution that would reduce the total cost of ownership while supporting network stability and remote network assessment.
To meet these needs Equant designed a fully managed, end-to-end solution with IP VPN and IP telephony, including:
Equant IP VPN, with MPLS technology that permits prioritisation of mission-critical traffic.
Equant IP Telephony, featuring Cisco AVVID Architecture and Cisco SmartNet support maintenance.
Unified Messaging to bring together messaging functions into a single, fully managed global system.
Remote Dial Access to allow employees to dial in to Gardner Smiths corporate network or the public Internet from around the world.
Internet Direct for secure Internet access via a high-performance dedicated link to the Internet.
Glen McMillan, CFO at Gardner Smith, said: We were looking to standardize across our network, reduce costs and use our infrastructure more efficiently. Equants expertise and professional approach convinced us that a converged solution was the best option. We decided that combining voice, data and video on one network with Equant offered us maximum advantages and return on investment.
The applications and productivity enhancements available with IP telephony were important considerations for Gardner Smith. Many of the companys 180 employees travel frequently, and the ability for them to remain connected anywhere in the world was crucial. Applications like Unified Messaging will also enable employees to stay connected, work more productively and save time in business communications.
Equants unmatched global reach was a big advantage and enables us to connect all of our locations, said McMillan. We feel that IP VPN technology is here to stay and it is worthwhile for us to make the move now. In addition, Equants high profile customer base and their professionalism gave us the confidence that we have chosen the right partner for our convergence needs.
Richard Knott, managing director, Equant Australasia, said that the move by Gardner Smith to IP telephony and IP VPN provides a compelling story for other global companies looking to take advantage of converged communications.
Gardner Smith recognized the importance of partnering with a global company like Equant, with unmatched coverage and the ability to provide local support to remote sites, he said. The degree of flexibility offered by the Equant IP VPN and IP telephony solutions allows businesses to take advantage of cost effective, scalable and secure communications well into the future.
About Equant
Equant (NYSE: ENT) (Euronext Paris: EQU) is a recognized industry leader in global data and IP network and integration services for multinational businesses. The Equant network has unmatched seamless reach, connecting key business centers in 220 countries and territories, with local support in more than 165 countries. Building on more than 50 years of experience in data communications, Equant serves thousands of the worlds top companies with the industrys most extensive portfolio of managed network services, including the market-leading IP VPN used by 950 global businesses as of Oct. 1, 2003. Equant, a subsidiary of France Telecom, was named Best Global Carrier 2003 and Best Managed Service 2003 at the World Communication Awards and consistently leads industry surveys in corporate user satisfaction.
About Gardner Smith
Established in 1923, Gardner Smith has built a global network of offices spanning Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, China, the U.S., South Africa and the U.K. The network has diversified to include the following businesses: Gardner Smith - is a merchandising, trading and logistics operation specialising in tallow, vegetable oils, liquid feeds and protein meals. Pacific Terminals - is a rapidly expanding bulk liquids storage operation offering the highest standards combined with flexibility and responsiveness to customer needs. Riverland Oilseed Processors - our Australian canola seed crushing plant supplies oil and meal to both the domestic and international markets. It is recognised as a leader in quality assurance programs and environmental practices.
Cooking Oils - this environmentally focused business operating in Australia, collects and recycles cooking oils and fats from fast food outlets, and other similar heavy users, for resale into industrial and animal feed sectors.
###
This release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements related to Equant that involve risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that these statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Equant with the SEC, specifically the most recent filing on SEC Form 20-F, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including, among other things, risks relating to Equants history of operating losses, the unpredictability of growth in Equants markets, changing technology, uncertain and changing regulatory restrictions, Equants international operations, dependence on suppliers, network security issues, competition, and volatility of Equants stock price and risks relating to the combination with Global One. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to Equant on the date hereof, and Equant assumes no obligation to update such statements.
Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Gardner Smith is a global business specializing in the supply of tallow, vegetable oils, liquid feeds and protein meals.
The IP VPN convergent services solution will provide 180 Gardner Smith employees at eight worldwide locations secure, cost-effective data, IP, voice and fax communications over a single high-speed network. The locations include Sydney, Melbourne, regional Victoria, Brisbane, Christchurch, Singapore, Houston and Durbin.
Gardner Smiths existing WAN frame relay contract was approaching renewal and several of its PABXs around the world were nearing the end of their life cycles. Consequently, the company decided to work with Equant toward a managed data network and PABX replacement solution that would reduce the total cost of ownership while supporting network stability and remote network assessment.
To meet these needs Equant designed a fully managed, end-to-end solution with IP VPN and IP telephony, including:
Equant IP VPN, with MPLS technology that permits prioritisation of mission-critical traffic.
Equant IP Telephony, featuring Cisco AVVID Architecture and Cisco SmartNet support maintenance.
Unified Messaging to bring together messaging functions into a single, fully managed global system.
Remote Dial Access to allow employees to dial in to Gardner Smiths corporate network or the public Internet from around the world.
Internet Direct for secure Internet access via a high-performance dedicated link to the Internet.
Glen McMillan, CFO at Gardner Smith, said: We were looking to standardize across our network, reduce costs and use our infrastructure more efficiently. Equants expertise and professional approach convinced us that a converged solution was the best option. We decided that combining voice, data and video on one network with Equant offered us maximum advantages and return on investment.
The applications and productivity enhancements available with IP telephony were important considerations for Gardner Smith. Many of the companys 180 employees travel frequently, and the ability for them to remain connected anywhere in the world was crucial. Applications like Unified Messaging will also enable employees to stay connected, work more productively and save time in business communications.
Equants unmatched global reach was a big advantage and enables us to connect all of our locations, said McMillan. We feel that IP VPN technology is here to stay and it is worthwhile for us to make the move now. In addition, Equants high profile customer base and their professionalism gave us the confidence that we have chosen the right partner for our convergence needs.
Richard Knott, managing director, Equant Australasia, said that the move by Gardner Smith to IP telephony and IP VPN provides a compelling story for other global companies looking to take advantage of converged communications.
Gardner Smith recognized the importance of partnering with a global company like Equant, with unmatched coverage and the ability to provide local support to remote sites, he said. The degree of flexibility offered by the Equant IP VPN and IP telephony solutions allows businesses to take advantage of cost effective, scalable and secure communications well into the future.
About Equant
Equant (NYSE: ENT) (Euronext Paris: EQU) is a recognized industry leader in global data and IP network and integration services for multinational businesses. The Equant network has unmatched seamless reach, connecting key business centers in 220 countries and territories, with local support in more than 165 countries. Building on more than 50 years of experience in data communications, Equant serves thousands of the worlds top companies with the industrys most extensive portfolio of managed network services, including the market-leading IP VPN used by 950 global businesses as of Oct. 1, 2003. Equant, a subsidiary of France Telecom, was named Best Global Carrier 2003 and Best Managed Service 2003 at the World Communication Awards and consistently leads industry surveys in corporate user satisfaction.
About Gardner Smith
Established in 1923, Gardner Smith has built a global network of offices spanning Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, China, the U.S., South Africa and the U.K. The network has diversified to include the following businesses: Gardner Smith - is a merchandising, trading and logistics operation specialising in tallow, vegetable oils, liquid feeds and protein meals. Pacific Terminals - is a rapidly expanding bulk liquids storage operation offering the highest standards combined with flexibility and responsiveness to customer needs. Riverland Oilseed Processors - our Australian canola seed crushing plant supplies oil and meal to both the domestic and international markets. It is recognised as a leader in quality assurance programs and environmental practices.
Cooking Oils - this environmentally focused business operating in Australia, collects and recycles cooking oils and fats from fast food outlets, and other similar heavy users, for resale into industrial and animal feed sectors.
###
This release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements related to Equant that involve risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that these statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Equant with the SEC, specifically the most recent filing on SEC Form 20-F, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including, among other things, risks relating to Equants history of operating losses, the unpredictability of growth in Equants markets, changing technology, uncertain and changing regulatory restrictions, Equants international operations, dependence on suppliers, network security issues, competition, and volatility of Equants stock price and risks relating to the combination with Global One. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to Equant on the date hereof, and Equant assumes no obligation to update such statements.