Aust firm oils global network with IP

Communications vendor Equant has won a three-year deal to roll out IP VPN and IP telephony networking globally, for an Australian company that recycles cooking oils and fats from fastfood restaurants.

France-based Equant has announced it will install a voice-and-data network for Gardner Smith, a global business that is headquartered in Sydney. Gardner Smith supplies tallow, vegetable oils, liquid feeds and protein meals to industry and agriculture.

The company incorporates Gardner Smith merchandising, trading and logistics, Pacific Terminals bulk liquids storage, Riverland Oilseed Processors canola seed oil and meal manufacture and the Cooking Oils oils and fats recycling business.

Equant -- a subsidiary of France Telecom -- will connect eight Gardner Smith sites and 180 staff around the world using data, IP, voice and fax over a single high-speed network.

Equant said Gardner Smith's existing frame relay WAN contract was ending, while several of its PABXs needed replacing. The vendor convinced Gardner Smith to work with it to build a managed data network and replace the PABXs for a lower total cost of ownership.

The vendor said it had designed a system for Gardner Smith incorporating Equant IP VPN with MPLS, Equant IP Telephony with Cisco AVVID architecture and Cisco SmartNet support, unified messaging, remote dial access and a dedicated internet link.

Glen McMillan, CFO at Gardner Smith, said the fats and oils vendor wanted to standardise its network, use infrastructure more efficiently and cut costs.

“Equant's expertise and professional approach convinced us that a converged solution was the best option. We decided that combining voice, data and video on one network with Equant offered us maximum advantages and return on investment,” McMillan said.

According to McMillan, Equant's global reach was a big advantage.

“We feel that IP VPN technology is here to stay and it is worthwhile for us to make the move now,” he said.
 
Gardner Smith began in 1923 and has built a global network of offices spanning Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, China, US, South Africa and the UK.