>>> NEWS! Nasdaq: SYNX
Sync Wins Frame Relay Access and Management Deal for First Union Corporation's Integrated Frame Relay Network
Acquisition of CoreStates Financial Results in Major Network Integration Initiative; Sync Frame Relay Access and Management Products Selected for Reliability
IRVINE, Calif., May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Sync Research (Nasdaq: SYNX - news), a leading provider of access and management solutions for business-critical frame relay networks,
today announced that it has been awarded a major deal from Charlotte, N.C.-based First Union Corporation (NYSE: FTU - news), a leading provider of financial services to more than
16 million retail and commercial customers throughout the East Coast and the nation. The deal will enable First Union to integrate its frame relay branch network with that of recently
acquired CoreStates Financial Services Group using Sync's frame relay access and management solutions.
''After evaluating existing frame relay solutions implemented separately by First Union and CoreStates, we chose to standardize on Sync products, given their proven ability to
successfully handle the large amount of mission- critical data we run across our branch network,'' said Carter Pittman, vice president, information technology division, First Union Corp.
''In the past two years, our frame relay network built on Sync's frame relay access and management products has experienced 99.8 percent availability, and Sync's factory and on-site
service has been impressive.''
The deal calls for First Union to deploy Sync's FrameNode(TM) 4200 Frame Relay Access Devices (FRADs) and Frame Relay Access Probes (FRAPs) at nearly 400 remote
locations. The FrameNode will serve as the branch access platform supporting SNA and IP connectivity to centralized applications located at First Union data centers. In addition to
DSU/CSU functionality, the FRAP will provide extensive frame relay performance and service-level monitoring and reporting capabilities for the integrated network. This new
deployment builds on First Union's existing frame relay network that connects more than 1,000 sites using Sync FrameNodes and FRAPs.
The acquisition of CoreStates Financial Group, completed on April 28, 1998, makes First Union the leading banking company on the Eastern Seaboard. The expanded enterprise will rank
among the nation's top three financial institutions in small business banking, home equity lending and cash management, and one of the top five middle market lenders in the nation.
This acquisition caused First Union's information technology executives to closely examine the different frame relay network infrastructures used at each financial institution to
determine which product and supplier would be best suited to serve as the basis for their integrated branch. After evaluating various vendors and their product track records, including
reliability and uptime, management, cost of ownership and service options, First Union selected Sync Research.
''We are tremendously pleased with First Union's decision to integrate its network using our FrameNode and FRAP products,'' states Greg Reyes, Chairman and co-CEO of Sync
Research. ''Building product and service solutions for business-critical wide-area networks is at the core of our mission statement, and the selection of Sync by First Union serves as
confirmation that we are delivering on this objective.''
About First Union Corp.
First Union Corp. (NYSE: FTU - news) is a leading provider of financial services to more than 16 million retail and corporate customers throughout the East Coast and the nation. First
Union is the nation's sixth-largest bank holding company, with assets of $220 billion. The company operates full-service banking offices in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,
Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
About Sync Research
Sync Research (Nasdaq: SYNX - news) develops, manufactures and markets access and management solutions that enable customers to deploy and support business- critical
applications across frame relay and other public switched virtual networks. Sync products include the FrameNode family of multi-service frame relay access solutions, the FRAP(TM)
(Frame Relay Access Probe) family of wide-area network performance and service-level monitoring probes, the TyLink(R) series of digital transmission solutions and the Envisage(TM)
suite of network element, performance and service-level management applications. Sync products are available from select OEMs, systems integrators, network service providers,
distributors and resellers worldwide. Company and product information is available at Sync InSite(TM) (www.sync.com).
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this news release are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward looking statements, including such factors, among others, as significant fluctuations in operating results,
uncertain profitability, dependence on the IBM customer base, uncertain market acceptance of frame relay, uncertain market acceptance of Sync Research products, product
concentration, dependence on channel partners and other resellers, rapid technological change and new products, and intense competition, and the risk factors set forth in Sync
Research's recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its reports on form 10-K and 10-Q.
SOURCE: Sync Research |
