Network to cut comms costs for 3i

New IP network to support latest technologies

Venture capital group 3i says it will cut communication costs by 25 per cent by installing a pan-European data network.

The company signed a £1.6m contract with Colt last summer to deploy an advanced IP network, and cut the number of suppliers it deals with from two to one.

John Tracey, 3i’s head of information systems, says the new network will also allow the company to introduce technologies such as IP telephony and video conferencing.

‘These are just some of the additional things that we will be installing,’ he said.

‘The network is a great agility provider, as well as helping future-proof our business.
In three-years time we will be putting in technology that does not exist today.
‘It is therefore essential that we have the right communications infrastructure underpinning our team,’ he said.

Tracey says the network also boosts the resilience of the organisation and improves its disaster recovery systems, while providing faster communication speeds and greater integration with IP resources.

Colt now provides 3i with a fully-managed, 23-site network covering the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Holland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.