Allianz Uses Equant VPN

ATLANTA -- Equant (NYSE: ENT) (Euronext Paris: EQU), an industry leader in IP and data services to multinational businesses, has completed a major portion of its recent multimillion dollar contract to provide Allianz Group an IP Virtual Private Network interconnecting 100 corporate sites on five continents. Allianz Group is a global leader in property and casualty insurance, life and health insurance, and asset management. Equant already has integrated 75 Allianz locations with its customized Equant IP VPN solution, which supports several corporate applications, including an intranet with a corporate directory, Lotus Notes and other groupware such as an application for stock and bond trading. In addition, Allianz is using managed firewalls, remote access with IPSec encryption as well as project and service management. The network will carry all Allianz Group financial reporting to Munich-based Allianz Holding. Allianz Group selected Equant for its extensive geographic coverage. Equant offers network availability in more than 220 countries and territories, while Allianz has sites in 68 countries across the globe. "We needed a service provider who could give us a seamless, reliable, secure network around the world," said Markus Schroder, manager of Infrastructure Development and Operations of Allianz. "Equant not only gives us the coverage we needed, but it also offers the best technology in the market and the service plans to back it up." Equant