Faced with rising communications costs, Lorien plc  decided to migrate to a new Voice over IP service.  It selected Telstra as its connectivity and hosting partner and succeeded in cutting costs by 40%, while also improving the speed and security of its wide area network. 

The Challenge:

A robust telecommunications infrastructure was essential for Lorien.  As a leading UK provider of IT recruitment and consulting services, the company needed to be able to provide a quick response to clients, contractors and job candidates.  However, more and more people were giving mobile phone numbers as their contact details, and Lorien’s monthly telephone bills were spiralling.  The company therefore decided to migrate to a new Voice over IP (VoIP) service.

In order to support VoIP, Lorien needed to replace its existing Frame Relay and ATM connectivity with a new network, which could link all its sites securely, provide guaranteed bandwidth and provide Quality of Service functionality to ensure the priority of voice calls on the network.  In addition, the company wanted to appoint a supplier that could host its VoIP equipment, guarantee its data security, provide 24x7 support and reduce administration.
 

The Solution:

Lorien approached a number of operators and, after a competitive tender, selected Telstra to provide Multi Protocol Layer Switching (MPLS) connectivity to all six of the company’s UK sites.  This MPLS solution provides secure, dedicated connectivity and can link multiple sites cost-effectively.  It also allows Quality of Service functionality, making it ideal to support VoIP.  Lorien selected an Ethernet-based service from Telstra, which enables the company to benefit from faster bandwidth, a simple upgrade capability and enhanced resilience.

In addition, Lorien elected to house all its VoIP equipment at Telstra’s hosting centre in London’s Docklands.  This centre interconnects with Lorien’s MPLS network and offers complete security for the company’s mission critical data.  Telstra’s trained engineers are available 24x7 and perform regular disaster simulations to constantly test and improve the resilience of services.

The Benefits:

Lorien’s data is now housed at Telstra’s hosting centre and all of the company’s outbound calls and mission critical processes are channelled through the MPLS network.  As a result, the company’s infrastructure for voice and data is more robust, and Lorien benefits from faster, more secure, more cost-effective bandwidth.  In total, the company estimates that it has reduced its communications expenditure by 40%.

For Lorien’s IT team, data and telephony administration is now a lot less complicated and time-consuming.  Lorien benefits from guaranteed levels of service, 24/7 customer support, rapid software installation for new office sites, online billing facilities and a dedicated account management team.  At the end of each month, the company receives one accurate monthly bill, which greatly simplifies its accounting and payment administration processes.