Lloyds TSB has signed a contract with Cable & Wireless (C&W) for the supply and implementation of an Internet Protocol virtual private network (IP-VPN) with quality of service (QoS) to connect 120 sites across the country.
The new network will be deployed at Lloyds TSB's Asset Finance division which offers direct lending and financing facilities for both business and personal banking customers.
C&W says the new network will enable the bank to prioritise different types of customer communications to speed up customer response times. The network can transmit any type of data over IP and offers five classes of service so that urgent data, such as business-critical transactions, can be prioritised and delivered before non-urgent information.
Al McMullan, IT infrastructure manager, Lloyds TSB Asset Finance, comments: "The Cable & Wireless IP-VPN was half the price of our current network, while providing twelve times more capacity. We can now gain a competitive advantage by ensuring the highest level of customer service and efficiency - making sure that clients don't have to wait unnecessarily.
McMullan says with the new IP-VPN, which replaces four frame relay networks, the bank is now in a position to "explore the benefits offered by a single core network, such as voice, data and contact centre integration".
Last year, C&W implemented a Frame Relay WAN, IP-LAN, and Centrex Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) system at Lloyds TSB Asset Finance's new office and call centre in Cardiff.