Esat BT has signed a deal with retail group Primark to deliver a €5m network that will allow the running of voice and data on the one network and remove the need for traditional telephone lines.
The project will involve the construction of a virtual private network for the transport of voice and data traffic.
Esat will deploy MPLS (multi-protocol label switching) technology to cover issues of speed, scalability, quality of service management and traffic engineering. Esat BT will deliver the MPLS service over a Cisco-powered network.
The managed service will enable the retail group to consolidate its applications onto a single network while prioritising its traffic across its 118 stores in Ireland and the UK. The decision to deploy MPLS was driven by Primark’s requirement to deal with a single global supplier for all its voice and data communications.
Enda Gallagher, network manager at Primark, commented: “In today’s fast paced retail environment, we required a network that can expand and contract easily in line with our own expansion strategy. In implementing Esat BT’s flexible MPLS service, we have been able to converge our data and voice networks, achieving our aim of getting all our communications requirements from a single supplier.”
By John Kennedy
