SYDNEY - 24 August 1999
HIH Insurance Limited, Australia's largest general insurance company, is now "on-net" with MCI WorldCom in Sydney.
As an extension to its central business district network, MCI WorldCom has laid fibre optic cable between HIH's headquarters in 50 Bridge Street to the FAI Insurance headquarters in 333 Kent Street. This link is now running a high bandwidth 155 Mbit/s ATM service to enable the integration and carriage of voice and data traffic between the two buildings.
This cable connection, installed in less than a month, underpins HIH's strategy to fast track the integration of FAI, which HIH acquired earlier this year.
"After the acquisition, we had two operations running different networks in two separate office buildings at different ends of the city, with more than 1,000 staff members between the two locations wanting access to vital applications, such as email," said Phil Eastoe, HIH's Program Manager Communications.
"There is a cost imperative to the integration process after mergers of this kind the longer it takes the more expensive it can be. We didn't want technology to be the barrier to the quick and cost effective integration of the two companies."
According to Phil Eastoe, MCI WorldCom's approach to the post-acquisition logistical issues was "flexible, fast and cost effective".
"Connecting the two buildings with fibre optic cable is an obvious solution, but we knew there wouldn't be too many telecommunications providers who would be willing and able to do this, and do it in a fast timeframe. MCI WorldCom could."
HIH is now directly connected to MCI WorldCom's communications network in Sydney with one-stop access to the full portfolio of voice, data and Internet services.
The MCI WorldCom ATM solution enables HIH to run a mix of different networking topologies to overcome compatibility issues between the two entities. Employees in either office are now able to seamlessly access all the applications required for them to conduct business.
For voice, the fibre link enables HIH to operate an "open line" between the two buildings, which significantly reduces the cost of inter-office calls.
Mr Eastoe said that HIH was "impressed" that MCI WorldCom could extend its network to deploy the fibre link within the stated timeframe and, offer an ATM solution at a price that was not prohibitive.
Suzanne Campbell, Managing Director, MCI WorldCom Australia said, "HIH provided the ideal opportunity for us to demonstrate our ability to provide solutions for our customers' real world problems."
