Transport for London (TfL) has awarded a five-year wide
area IP data network management contract to Fujitsu
Services.
Fujitsu will now be the sole provider of network services
support to the 400 London offices of TfL, the body that runs London
transport facilities.
The IP network will enable TfL to bring the supervision of its
disparate networks onto one common platform. Fujitsu said that by
standardising the level of network management and consolidating the
delivery of information, TfL could expect to make up to 40% savings
in leased-line and network management costs over the term of the
contract.
Introducing a single support platform also brings TfL a step
closer to meeting its information management and business strategy
of integrating its IT services. The new measures will standardise
the approach to the delivery of business applications across the
TfL group, which includes London buses, the Underground and the
Docklands Light Railway.
Other benefits of standardising the administration of its
network services include a more focused approach to improving
business continuity and increased network performance efficiency.
Having just one platform from which to manage all networks also
means TfL can prepare more effectively for future applications such
as mobility, controlled-circuit TV over IP and IP telephony.
Mike Lloyd of Fujitsu said, “Network reliability is of paramount
importance to any enterprise, especially one as large as Transport
for London and particularly given the sheer scale and diversity of
its individual responsibilities to London’s travelling public. With
TfL’s specific network requirements now in place, we can help with
maximising the benefits that can come from a consolidated approach
to IT management.
“Drawing on our long-standing relationship, and conscious of
TfL’s overall strategy for its networking needs, we designed a
cost-effective, flexible plan that will unfold in set phases over
the next five years, in accordance with the customer’s
specifications.”