October 1, 2003 – Equant (NYSE: ENT) (Euronext Paris: EQU), a recognized industry leader in global IP and data services for multinational businesses, has signed a long-term contract with Zurich Insurance Company (Zurich) to manage Zurich Financial Services Group’s telecom and network services in seven European countries.
Equant will provide Zurich with a comprehensive solution that includes WAN and LAN management, fixed and mobile voice, Internet access, security services and remote access services. The agreement includes the transfer to Equant of a number of Zurich IT specialists, as well as third party contracts and assets. All transfers are subject to the prior completion of consultation procedures and to competition law filing requirements in the relevant countries.
Zurich can expect to significantly reduce its telecom and network costs and to gain other benefits through the agreement with Equant by:
- Consolidating from several third-party vendors to one.
- Migrating its legacy network into a seamless Equant IP VPN solution.
"We are very pleased to provide a full range of European telecom services to such a blue-chip financial institution as Zurich Financial Services," said Michel Picaud, senior vice president, Equant Global Solutions. "This important outsourcing solution clearly demonstrates Equant’s unmatched capabilities to offer complete end-to-end international telecom services for demanding corporate users."