Energis wins lucrative IP VPN deals

Energis has continued its comeback with three new contracts with WH Smith News, DHL and the Crown Prosecution Service to provide Internet Protocol (IP) virtual private network (VPN) services. The deals are worth just over £16m.

The company has signed a £12m deal with Logica to provide an IP VPN that will link up the Crown Prosecution Service's main sites onto one secure network.

The network will underpin a new case management system, which will allow employees to share documents electronically.

For WH Smith News, Energis will link 53 UK distribution centres, its head office and other sites onto one secure network via an IP VPN.

This signals a migration from its existing networks and systems onto a single network based on Multi Protocol Label Switching, which allows for the prioritisation of network traffic so that more important applications can take precedence over less urgent data traffic.

Peter Swann, information systems director at WHSmith News, said: "We needed a network which was secure, reliable and able to stand up to the increasing volumes of network traffic across our distribution centres.

"Energis has already proved its worth as an existing supplier and we felt confident in its ability to support us now and in the future."

The DHL deal involves the renewal of IP VPN and managed network contracts already in place. Energis will also help to set up a new network to route inbound customer calls to DHL's call centre in the east midlands.