PSINet And Wang Global Announce Strategic Alliance For Business Internet Voice Service
November 3, 1998
HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE) PSIVoice
Customers to Receive Integrated Worldwide
Support
PSINet Inc. (NASDAQ:PSIX), the first and
largest independent commercial Internet
Service Provider (ISP), today announced a
strategic alliance with Wang Global
(NASDAQ:WANG) to support the international
rollout of PSIVoice - PSINet's
voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VOIP) service.
The agreement will provide PSIVoice
customers worldwide with an integrated
collection of strategic planning/analysis,
engineering, installation/delivery, and ongoing
support capabilities. Wang Global services will
complement the efforts of PSINet's existing
network operations, engineering, field
services, and customer administration
professionals.
"We announced the PSIVoice strategy in July
and the company has been actively working
with customers, prospects, and strategic
business partners to streamline all aspects
associated with successful implementation of
our business VOIP services," said William L.
Schrader, chairman and chief executive
officer for PSINet. "Consequently, PSINet has
developed a multi-phased approach for
PSIVoice that will start with the delivery of
business-class VOIP services for small and
medium-sized companies that are current
PSINet customers. Since the first week of
October we have been demonstrating -
ahead of schedule - first phase PSIVoice
operations."
This first phase of PSIVoice conforms to the
successful model under which PSINet has
been providing PSI IntraNet for nearly two
years. The architecture incorporates
permanent virtual circuits between multiple
locations of an enterprise or business. All
data is transmitted over the PSINet network,
eliminating many of the security, reliability,
and performance concerns associated with
the "public" Internet. Through discussions
with its customers and with independent
market analysts, PSINet discovered that
VOIP services might likely be perceived as
more complex than other Internet
applications such as intranets, electronic mail
and Web services. "We take these concerns
seriously and are committed to combining
innovative technology with top-notch
customer service to create uncomplicated
business solutions, " Schrader added.
The teaming of Wang Global and PSINet will
provide customers with best-in-class
Internet voice services. "PSIVoice will
provide business users with much greater
value from their PSI IntraNet service,
including long distance telephone cost
savings. In addition, Wang Global's expertise
will enhance PSIVoice through highly qualified
planning and installation services on a
worldwide basis," said Dave Hudson, vice
president of marketing, Wang Global. "We are
committed to providing services that
increase the business value of the Internet
and electronic commerce, and are confident
that the partnership between PSINet and
Wang Global marks the beginning of a
broader collaboration between our
companies."
"Businesses increasingly rely on the Internet
as a preferred medium for their critical
applications," said Sandy Blaisdell, PSINet
vice president for field services. "Downtime,
unexpected delays and service failures
directly impact the bottom line for these
customers - no matter how large or small the
organization. The PSINet/Wang Global
alliance represents another critical milestone
in the evolution of PSIVoice and reaffirms the
PSINet network as a reliable and secure
information utility upon which businesses can
expand operations, reduce operating costs,
and increase profitability," said Blaisdell. Most
industry analysts agree that Internet
Protocol has positioned itself as the logical
platform for next generation networks.
A recently released report by Cambridge,
MA-based Forrester Research revealed that
corporate users want to see proof of
savings, long-term support, and high quality
before they make the leap into VOIP
services. Nevertheless, nearly one-half of
companies interviewed by Forrester expect
to experiment with Internet voice and
Internet fax by the end of 1999. The primary
factors in acceptance are commitment to
customer service and the continuing
evolution of reliable and broadly accepted
VOIP technologies that minimize network
delay, make conversations sound more
realistic, and improve ease-of-use.
"We are very excited to be working closely
with PSINet -- one of the world's largest and
most respected ISPs," said George Blake,
vice president, Enterprise Transport Group
for Wang Global. "The alliance combines the
expertise of two industry leaders while
offering a standardized global support
infrastructure for PSIVoice." The
PSINet/Wang Global initiative serves to
address a variety of challenges associated
with delivering business-quality VOIP
services.
Headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts,
Wang Global is a leading international
networked technology services and solutions
company providing a comprehensive range of
information technology services for today's
network-centric business environments. With
annualized revenues in excess of $3.0 billion,
Wang Global designs, installs, operates and
maintains global computing and
telecommunications networks for some of the
world's largest multinational companies.
Services include systems architecture
design, installation, warranty, help desk,
maintenance, software support, and
management of enterprise networks to the
desktop.
Headquartered in Herndon, VA, PSINet is a
global facilities-based Internet Protocol (IP)
data communications carrier focused on the
business marketplace. As the first and
largest independent commercial Internet
service provider in the world, PSINet offers a
broad set of high-speed corporate LAN
connectivity services supporting managed
security and guaranteed Internet, intranet,
electronic commerce, Web hosting services,
and services for other carriers and ISPs.
PSINet operates an international
state-of-the-art frame relay and ATM-based,
IP-optimized network consisting of over 500
points of presence (PoPs) around the world
serving primary markets in Belgium, Canada,
France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan,
the Netherlands, Republic of Korea,
Switzerland, the United States, and the
United Kingdom. General PSINet information
can be obtained by e-mail at info@psi.com,
or by accessing the Web site at
psinet.com.
CONTACT: Media Contact: or Analyst
Contact: | Michael P. Binko Kelli Harrington
Nemer | 703/904-4285
703/904-4100ext.1245 | binkom@psi.com
harringtonk@psi.com
[Copyright 1998, Business Wire]
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