SEQUENT COMPUTER SYSTEMS: Sequent
checks in for PayPoint
PayPoint, the new major supplier of high street
payment outlets for utility and bill issuing
companies, has awarded Sequent, the leading supplier
of high-end open systems, an GBP 800,000 contract for
two Sequent Symmetry 5000 SE40 servers. PayPoint's
service accepts electronic payments on behalf of
companies such as BT, British Gas, BBC TV licensing,
London Electricity and water companies through a
range of retail stores from newsagents to multiple
supermarkets.
PayPoint's new service will allow anyone to make
payments to participating service companies free of
charge. PayPoint will enable customers to pay their
bills at 8,000 terminals in over 7,300 retail
locations nationwide which are close to peoples'
homes and in major shopping centres. Particular
attention is being given to the needs of millions of
householders who pay their bills in cash, often on a
weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly basis.
Cheque payments will also be accepted at PayPoint
outlets.
"The service we'll be offering to users throughout
the country will form an extremely demanding
environment, and we chose Sequent out of three
shortlisted vendors because we found them to offer
great price performance, with a risk removal strategy
that was an essential part of our plans," says Rob
Farbrother, managing director of PayPoint.
"Our service will involve hundreds of millions of
transactions through the year, and we knew the system
we chose would have to interface with the host
systems of some 20 or so of our bill issuing clients.
We believe that Sequent is well placed to provide the
hardware capable of dealing with the kinds of
challenges we will present, as well as be responsive
to our support requirements.
"Sequent's integration experience in the field, their
partnership approach and their support and confidence
have certainly made their products the right choice
for us. The robustness and scalability of their
Symmetry servers was also a fundamental part of our
choice," adds Farbrother.
Kerry Chapman, Sequent's financial marketing manager,
says:
"We believe this new value-add service will make the
lives of people paying cash much easier and will grow
immensely. Sequent is proud to be associated with an
innovative new service such as PayPoint."
PayPoint is using one of the Symmetry machines for
disaster recovery, an essential detail to remove
risk, both for PayPoint and the bill issuers that
make up its customer base. The service is currently
being trialled in the UK.
About Sequent Computer Systems
Sequent Computer Systems is uniquely capable of
delivering robust and scalable Data Centre Ready open
systems solutions. Sequent minimises customers' risk,
enabling implementation of complex business
applications that support critical needs, based on
the breakthrough Sequent NUMA-Q architecture, a
comprehensive portfolio of proven migration services
and offerings, and an established set of partnerships
with the industry's best in class.
Sequent has installed over 1,200 high-end open
computer systems in the UK with customers including:
BT, Lloyds TSB, Employment Service, Lombard North
Central, Norwich Union, Reuters, European Passenger
Services (Eurostar), Virgin Atlantic, NEXT, Mercury
One2One, Milk Marque, Tate & Lyle, Essex Police and
the Inland Revenue.
Sequent's NUMA-Q 2000 customers include: Boeing,
Burlington Coat Factory, Ford Motor Company,
Millipore Corporation, National Association of
Securities Dealers, Inc., Polizei HH, Source
Informatics, Telkom South Africa, University of
Auckland and Unocal 76 Products Company.
The Worldwide Web address for Sequent in the UK is
sequent.com
CONTACT: Terry Jordan, Sequent Computer Systems
Tel: +44 (0)1932 851 111
e-mail: terryj@sequent.com
Ben Hill/Kate Axelby, Firefly Communications
Tel: +44 (0)171 381 4505
e-mail: bhill@firefly.co.uk
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