Affiniti Lands Lloyds Deal

LONDON -- Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets has completed a £3.5 million Cisco converged communications project at its flagship premises, Ten Gresham Street, with communications integrator Affiniti. The new state of the art facility consolidates Lloyds TSB’s award-winning relationship banking service with its rapidly expanding debt capital markets, risk management and structured finance expertise. Bringing these businesses together has resulted in an integrated team of over 1,100 staff, including 200 traders, working together to deliver comprehensive financial solutions to enhance their customer relationships and streamline processes.

Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets contracted Affiniti to provide a bespoke service covering design, pre-staging, implementation and user acceptance testing for all technology for the new premises and to link the technology to facilities at its Monument Street and Chiswell Street premises. A 3-year partnership agreement for reactive break/fix ensures the network runs smoothly.

In the new building, multimedia technology in the 30 seat IP Contact Centre gives sales agents a complete view of their clients’ portfolio so they can work with their clients to meet their goals, offering advice and solutions, and giving an opportunity to cross-sell products and services. Corporate customers will benefit from one point of call for all their banking needs, including Cash Management and Payments, Risk Management, HR & Pensions, Specialist Financing, Trade and Structured Investments.

A big benefit to staff includes inbuilt wireless access in the café, providing a great environment for meeting, talking and planning. With traders working such long days, it is paramount that they have the best, most conducive working environment, to aid productivity. Also improving the working environment, the new network supports the latest in trading floor equipment with reduced output of noise and heat, and takes up a lot less space under desks. The heat and noise of the old trading floor has gone and traders remain cool and comfortable.

Colin Everett, head of IT Strategy & Architecture at Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets, said: "We have worked with Affiniti for several years and its selection for this project was based on an excellent track record in the City for deploying highly resilient environments including trading floors. Business partnerships are important to us and so it was vital that we signed up to a company with whom we could truly share the risks and the rewards. Affiniti took the time to understand our unique requirements and challenges and worked with us to provide a bespoke solution, while committing to very aggressive deadlines."

Kingston Communications plc