Customer benefits
Through Vanco, Pilkington achieved a best-of-breed communications solution between multiple locations within country, together with the connectivity required for the seamless international integration.The multiple technology, multiple carrier, solution was based on frame relay, with Leased Line, IP VPN and ISDN, providing the highest levels of availability and resilience. The network linked 266 sites across 17 European countries, as well as the US, Mexico, Canada, and Australia. Vanco integrated the different providers and provided a fully managed solution with a single end-to-end SLA covering infrastructure from 35 providers.

• Centralised control of the network with a single partner
• Unrivalled network visibility through Vanco's O-Zone solution
• Enhanced and improved service delivery
• A solution delivering the required combination of reach and density
• 20% cost saving over existing infrastructure, with significant improvements in resilience, and capacity

Pilkington views the network as a significant enabler of competitive advantage

Ongoing developments
One of the core benefits in selecting Vanco’s VNO approach for the network, is that it enabled Pilkington to enjoy the freedom to adapt the solution in line with its changing technical and commercial requirements. Since the start of the relationship Vanco has partnered with Pilkington in a cost reduction programme. Through regularly reviewing the selected carriers and their pricing and changing this where appropriate, Vanco has ensured that the solution has remained competitive throughout the lifetime of the contract.

A new technical solution has been developed to incorporate MPLS at some of the core sites. This has delivered the additional functionality that is available through MPLS, but without the need to change the entire global solution. Additional countries - Argentina, Brazil and Chile- have also been incorporated into the solution in South America.

What the customer thinks of the solution
"We rely heavily on our network in order to manage our business, so need a provider that guarantees a consistent and reliable service. Vanco has not only given us a global, tailored solution that no basic infrastructure provider could give, but we have also cut costs in the process. A lot of companies talk about a single global entity for IT, but as far as I am concerned we are one of the few to do this - and Vanco is an integral partner in helping us to achieve this."
Stephen Pownall, Group Director, Information Systems