Broadband is becoming the preferred replacement for Frame
Relay for companies worldwide branch office connections to
headquarters.
Johnson Matthey's precious metals division uses broadband as a key
enabler for its small operations, the CMA Conference heard. The
division's IT director Stephen Way said broadband was chosen
because the company's previous wide area network was proving to be
too expensive.
The company had relied on expensive leased lines and Frame Relay to
support the Wan before it adopted broadband to cut costs.
Way said that as each country's operation, no matter how small, had
to pay for its own connectivity, the company's legacy technology
was too expensive.
Before Johnson Matthey built its broadband Wan, Way said the
company had to overcome various hurdles. These included the
bankruptcy of WorldCom, just after Johnson had awarded it a managed
network contract, and the discovery that its staff were changing
the configuration of the company's security protocols without
permission.
Johnson initially used Novell Border Manager to secure its Wan, but
this was replaced with a locked down Cisco Pix router system. The
company has now put tight security guidelines in place.
Way said, "We do not use a single supplier for our connectivity, we
tend to go to the incumbent provider in each country and take it
from there. This also spreads the risk."
Way said broadband helps the company's management as each operation
has its own internet gateway, where previously a single internet
gateway served all the different operations.