Infonet Launches New Company to Enable Advanced E-Business Communications
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Infonet ASP Offers End-to-End Managed Services to Corporations Needing to Provide Multiple Media Access to Their Business Communities
EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 2001-- Infonet Services Corp. (NYSE:IN - news; FSE:IN), a leading provider of global communications services for multinationals, today announced the launch of a new company, Infonet ASP.
Infonet ASP's mission is to provide international corporations with the capability to deploy managed Net services to customers, partners and employees enabling corporations to provide secure, controlled access to both new and legacy applications through a variety of media formats such as voice, video, data, etc.
This will also enable corporations to build next-generation business communities to reach customers, suppliers and partners over a secure end-to-end application infrastructure. For those multinationals that require the highest levels of security and application performance, Infonet ASP will offer its solutions over the Infonet World Network(TM).
Infonet ASP has been created specifically to meet the growing requirement of many corporations to provide real-time ``universal access'' to their users through a growing diversity of media formats. Few organizations want to service or administer such ``universal access'' themselves because of the heavy investment required in human, technological and financial resources.
This is leading more and more multinationals to consider outsourcing many of their communications needs via an integration service provider as a more viable option.
In essence, Infonet ASP will provide companies with a ``virtual communications gateway,'' offering a managed platform for controlled access to information over disparate platforms and through multiple access methods (Web, e-mail, telephone, mobile, etc.).
Further consolidating these functions into one service proposition ensures an integrated view of all relevant points of interaction, reducing the costs of setting up and managing multiple access gateways, and offering a secure environment for net-based application extensions, all focusing on reducing communications complexity whilst broadening reach.
Infonet ASP launches with over 60 clients, one of which is Devote NV, the leading eConsulting firm in the Netherlands, specializing in e-business and IT architecture consultancy and implementation. Devote's clients include international companies such as ABN AMRO and ING banks, Ahold, KPN and Elsevier. Through Infonet ASP, Devote will deliver managed Microsoft Application Hosting services to its eCommerce clientele to enable them to interact with their customers.
Commenting on the relationship, Dennis Steen, Chief Marketing Officer of Devote said: ``For the last three years we have been exploiting similar services in-house but have come to the conclusion that this is an extremely specialized business that can only be delivered through a professional and dedicated services organization. Through past favorable experiences with Infonet we have the trust and assurance that they will be able to deliver.''
Commented Harry van Streun, President and CEO of Infonet ASP: ``Companies today want to improve their responsiveness and accelerate time to market. Integral to this is better interaction with clients and partners, using a variety of communications platforms. The dilemma is that although on the one hand companies want to provide universal access; on the other they need to ensure their communications platforms are not only fully integrated, but also secure and controlled.''
Added van Streun: ``Some concerns which companies express when outsourcing to ASPs is the loss of control over their own infrastructure and security. With Infonet's heritage and long-term expertise of securing network and application access with more than 2,600 global corporations, these issues are eliminated. Further, by leveraging Infonet's existing best practices, we will deliver exceptional service and support at competitive prices making us a natural leader in this market.''
``At Infonet we remain -- as we have for almost 30 years -- focused on the global communications needs of our clients,'' said Jose Collazo, Chairman, CEO and President of Infonet. ``Multinationals are constantly looking for a competitive advantage. Through Infonet ASP, companies can outsource their global communications needs so they can focus on their core business.''
Van Streun will head the new company, based in the Netherlands. van Streun has been General Manager for Infonet in the Netherlands for the last six years. In addition to introducing several highly successful value-added services for Infonet he also led one of the most successful Infonet country organizations.
Supporting van Streun will be Peter Mijderwijk as Vice President of Marketing. Mijderwijk has a strong background in Media and IT recently in General Management positions with Mindport Sentriq and IBM Global Services BMS/ERP organization. His primary results have been in defining service portfolios and successfully executing marketing and sales strategies.
About Infonet
Infonet Services Corp. is an innovative leader in providing value-added global communications services to multinational entities.
Powering the enterprise-wide communications initiatives of more than 2,600 multinationals, Infonet provides a comprehensive portfolio of network-based solutions including Broadband, Internet, Intranet, MultiMedia, Remote Access, Local Access and Application Services (Call Center, Collaboration, Messaging and Hosting).
Infonet is a pioneer in providing multinationals with The Intelligent Edge in Global Communications(TM) -- a unique service based on its patent-pending tools that models and optimizes the complex relationship between applications and the global network.
Winner of the World Communication Awards 2000 for ``Best Customer Care'' and ``Best Carrier,'' Infonet owns and operates The World Network®, accessible from more than 180 countries, and provides local service support in more than 60 countries and territories.
Founded in 1970, Infonet's stock is traded on the New York and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges under the symbol IN. Additional information about the company is available at www.infonet.com.
About Devote
Devote, which specializes in e-business and IT architecture consultancy and implementation, is listed on Euronext Amsterdam since February 1999. Devote operates at the high-end of the market, supporting companies doing business in the global digital network economy by providing a continuous source of expertise in strategic planning, development and implementation in the field of e-business and IT architecture. Devote currently employs a staff of around 350. Its clientele include companies that are among the top 100 in the Netherlands, such as Elsevier, ABN AMRO, ING, Kappa Packaging, Ahold, KPN, SUN Microsystems, Wehkamp and Macintosh Retail Group, as well as the Royal Netherlands Army.
Safe Harbor Statement: Infonet may have made forward-looking statements in this release. These projections are based on information available to the company as of the date of this release and Infonet undertakes no duty to update the information to take account of later events. Risk factors investors should take into account that might affect results include: strength of the market for Infonet products and services, competition, the timely transitioning of new business opportunities to Infonet's network and the effect of currency fluctuation. Investors should refer to risk factors elaborated on in Infonet's 10K, 10-Qs and other recent filings made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These documents are available through the investor relations portion of Infonet's Web site at infonet.com.
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Contact:
Infonet Services Corp., El Segundo
Alex Rassey, 310/335-1144
or
Ruder Finn
Alicia Dollard, 212/593-6343 |
