LONDON -- BT today announced a £10.5 million managed network deal with Alliance & Leicester, one of the UK's major financial services groups. Under the terms of the five-year deal, BT will upgrade a managed Wide Area Network (WAN) connecting over 300 branches across the UK. BT will also upgrade Alliance & Leicester's existing network infrastructure to Internet Protocol (IP), increasing network capacity by a factor of four.
The new IP-based network will lower costs and improve communication between Alliance & Leicester's branch networks. Increased bandwidth will enable the delivery of enhanced intranet and e-learning services. Employees will benefit from improved access to customer information and new product and industry news, which will improve customer service.
Russell Simm Technology and Process Design director, Alliance & Leicester, said: "Value for money is as important for our business as it is for our customers, therefore it is important for our branch network to be as cost efficient as possible, whilst still delivering the best possible service. Through our previous work with BT, it had proven itself as a valued telecoms supplier. We know that BT understands our business and the financial market, as well as having the technical expertise to deliver a high performance network solution."
Ben Burgess, general manager of UK Banking at BT, said: "This deal with Alliance & Leicester supports BT's growing reputation for delivering industry-leading ICT solutions to financial institutions. IP is fast becoming the network standard for the finance industry because of its cost efficiency and reliability. We have a long relationship with Alliance & Leicester and we look forward to working together to provide ongoing benefits to both employees and customers."
BT Group plc