Gifford & Partners choose ATM in preference to MPLS for multi-site data network
Reading, UK, September 27th, 2004 --- Specialist network operator 8el has won a contract expected to be worth £500,000 over 3 years to supply engineering and design consultants Gifford & Partners with a new, ‘Quality of Service’ enabled data network. The 8el solution was chosen ahead of proposals from 11 other suppliers and aims to deliver a more dependable service for data traffic across 6 sites, introduce significantly increased resilience and provide future proofing for a planned network expansion.
The new network, set to go live later this year, will provide the Southampton based consultants with a high performance, Wide Area Network (WAN) solution with centralised Internet access to their chosen ISP. Fully managed by 8el, the network will supply Gifford & Partners’ 450 UK employees with un-contended Internet access and a solid platform to roll out centralised applications.
Gifford’s decision to use 8el’s ATM based solution in preference to alternative MPLS technology was taken in order to capitalise on a number of compelling quality and cost advantages. By installing ATM enabled customer premise equipment at each of Gifford’s sites, 8el’s ATM core network is extended to the customer, enabling ‘Class of Service’ to be configured across the network. This allows Giffords to prioritise traffic across the network, guaranteeing high performance for end users at no additional cost.
In comparison, alternative MPLS based solutions (initially considered by Giffords), typically add charges for ‘Class of Service’ and for the amount of bandwidth required to support an application over the network. The ATM protocol is also particularly beneficial for running time-sensitive applications such as VoIP, video and thin client (citrix) due to ATM’s predictably low latency.
Said Andrew Slade, IT manager, at Gifford & Partners “With rising traffic across the network our number one priority was to find a solution that could guarantee reliability, performance and quality. Secondly, we needed piece of mind that, should we encounter a circuit outage on one particular part of the network, service would be maintained via a back-up route. 8el’s solution more than satisfied our criteria with effective use of ATM technology and demonstrable, proactive support.”
Gifford & Partners whose prime disciplines cover civil, structural and building services engineering will also benefit from 8el’s range of value added services including remote access to corporate systems and advanced data monitoring tools available 24/7 from
About Gifford & Partners
Gifford & Partners offer a comprehensive consultancy service in engineering and design. Gifford are a people focused, problem solving organisation, from the experts they employ to how they tackle complex projects. Gifford & Partners have the skills and resources, and the right mindset, to ensure creative, technically sound design and engineering solutions. Gifford & Partners’ corporate headquarters are based in Southampton and they maintain 5 other sites throughout the UK.
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