PITTSBURGH, March 15 /PRNewswire/ -- To build a network that addresses
today's business demands as well as those of the future, Delta Air Lines
(NYSE:DAL) has selected FORE Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:FORE), a leading global
supplier of Application Aware(TM) networking solutions, to provide hardware
for its new network, including asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) core switches
and Ethernet edge switches. Delta's new network will leverage a core backbone
based on ATM to facilitate the implementation of a variety of applications.
"We have an aggressive schedule to roll out new applications and systems
in support of the company's key business initiatives," said Charlie Feld,
Chief Information Officer, Delta Air Lines. "It is critical that we have an
infrastructure that allows us to focus our resources on meeting our business
goals, not on network issues. The network that we are implementing gives us
the infrastructure that we need to meet our business goals."
The selection of FORE is a fundamental component in Delta's deployment of
leading-edge technology to achieve major business initiatives, including
improved customer service and satisfaction, operational efficiency, and
improved revenue management. Since selecting FORE last year, Delta has
completed the initial stage of deployment of its new company-wide
communications infrastructure.
Delta is implementing a new company-wide network architecture for several
reasons, including support for its global IT renewal effort. Delta is also
preparing to support new video and multimedia applications. To achieve
operational efficiency and business advantage, Delta will combine voice and
video traffic over a common network.
FORE Systems Solution Provides Top Performance
After extensively testing solutions from a variety of vendors, Delta
selected FORE because its solution scored highest in all areas of performance,
functionality and interoperability.
"To support our IT transformation, we identified the need for a reliable,
high performance, scalable network infrastructure at our airports,
reservations call centers and Atlanta campus capable of running multimedia
applications," said Paul Millard, Vice President of Engineering for Delta
Technology, Inc., the wholly owned information technology subsidiary for Delta
Air Lines.
"We also required a network that could be implemented quickly and
integrated seamlessly with the network equipment that we currently had
installed. FORE met all of our requirements. Their technology, service and
support have performed well during our aggressive roll-out. We have realized
additional benefit by simplifying our environment for support, training and
implementation by choosing a common network infrastructure from a single
supplier."
"FORE's solution also impressed us as the easiest solution to configure,
install and manage," added Barry Lloyd, Director of Network Engineering, Delta
Technology, Inc. "We have been able to simplify our network design and manage
our new network with fewer resources than required for our previous generation
network, which relied much more heavily on routers."
About the Delta Network
Delta Air Lines is moving rapidly to a more standardized computing
environment, consisting of Windows NT at the desktop and UNIX, OS/390, and TPF
platforms for applications and data. In addition to implementing ATM
technology at the core of its network, Delta's backbone supports Ethernet
connectivity to end users and provides a powerful, yet simplified architecture
to seamlessly integrate existing and emerging applications.
Already one of the nation's largest ATM-based networks, and one of the
world's first major air carriers to adopt ATM for its information technology
infrastructure, Delta began its implementation of this network in April of
1998. Delta's new network consists of a core ATM campus backbone in each area
with switched Fast Ethernet solutions at the edge. FORE technology will also
provide connectivity for airport and campus networks around the world, as well
as in Delta call centers throughout the United States. ForeRunner(R) ASX(TM)
1000 ATM switches with OC-12 (622 Mbps) connections will be used for the
backbone solution. In addition, FORE's ES-3810 LAN switches are being
deployed for the network edge, providing Fast Ethernet switching capabilities
to every desktop computer.
About Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, named Airline of the Year by Air Transport World
magazine, is the world's most flown carrier. More than 105 million passengers
traveled on Delta in 1998. Delta, Delta Express, the Delta Shuttle, the Delta
Connection carriers and Delta's Worldwide Partners operate 5,211 flights each
day to 353 cities in 56 countries.
About Delta Technology
Delta Technology supports Delta Air Lines in its global business pursuit
by providing leading edge information technology solutions and services. The
company is based in Atlanta and employs more than 2,000 people.
|
