Siemens Selected for Europe's Largest Private Managed IP Network

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Global Crossing has selected Siemens Communications to provide the open communications technology behind Europe's largest private managed IP communications network.

OGCbuying.solutions has extended Global Crossing's existing Managed Telephony Service (Mts) to 125,000 U.K. public servants across 600 locations until December 2011. A key enabler of the government's shared service agenda, Mts applies advanced communications technology to achieve more efficient use of public funds. Siemens' open communications technology is a critical part of the infrastructure underpinning new ways of working.

Global Crossing is partnering with Siemens for a hosted IP telephony service delivering collaboration and messaging services. The services are based on a managed implementation of Siemens HiPath 8000 platform plus its OpenScape unified communications application.
The contract calls for HiPath 8000 and OpenScape to provide assurance for restricted communications. The open-standards infrastructure will allow adoption of full unified communications across the whole government.

"This is flexible working in practice, on a massive scale," said David Leighton, director of public sector at Siemens Enterprise Communications. "Government departments can access a simple, seamless communications experience that brings together every important business communications method, from voice and email to IM and video. Cross-governmental collaboration efforts will be underpinned by presence and preference-based functionality, delivering enhanced productivity. This arguably puts the public sector ahead of the private sector in the wide-scale adoption of unified communications."

"Bringing together our two companies' expertise has enabled us to create a service that will transform the way that government departments work in the future. With a strong focus on creating efficiencies and supporting a completely secure and flexible working environment, this agreement includes migration capability to a full suite of advanced IP services that will allow government users access to one of the largest managed IP network services in Europe," said Anthony Christie, Global Crossings' managing director of the United Kingdom and Europe.