AT&T Awarded Contract from GM To Manage Global IP Network
30 November 1999
AT&T Awarded Contract from General Motors To Design, Build and Manage Global IP Network AT&T CORPORATION LOGO AT&T Corporation logo.[DM] NEW YORK, NY USA 10/18/1999
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Nov. 30 -- AT&T announced today that it
has been awarded a five-year contract worth approximately $350 million from
General Motors, the world's leading manufacturer of cars and trucks, to
design, build and manage a state-of-the-art global Internet Protocol (IP)
network that will greatly enhance the automaker's e-business connectivity.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991018/ATT )
AT&T Solutions, the company's professional services subsidiary, will
replace GM's multiple legacy networks with an IP backbone network that
combines the benefits of IP and advanced networking technologies, and provide
global networking management across GM's information technology
infrastructure. AT&T Solutions also will facilitate a smooth transition from
GM's legacy networks to the next-generation network.
The alliance with AT&T supports GM's strategic goals of significantly
reducing vehicle design-to-production intervals, reducing corporate expense by
optimizing network design and achieving operational excellence on a global
basis. Additionally, AT&T Solutions will introduce state-of-the-art
networking capabilities that allow GM to integrate work efforts among teams in
global design facilities in Michigan, Brazil, Germany and Singapore --
enabling 'round-the-clock, 'round-the-world collaboration on critical
projects.
GM and AT&T Solutions also are establishing a joint process to standardize
and guide future development of GM's global IT infrastructure, which will
enable GM to leverage its applications, knowledge and expertise much more
broadly -- from its U.S. headquarters to operations in Europe, Asia, South
America, Africa and Australia.
AT&T Solutions will work closely with EDS, GM's current primary network
and computer services provider, to ensure continued smooth operation of legacy
systems while the next-generation IP network is being built. AT&T will
streamline GM's global operations by standardizing the communications
technology infrastructure across the company, and provide ubiquitous
connectivity among GM's 1,100 locations in more than 40 countries.
"Seamless global networking connectivity is a top priority for us," said
Ralph Szygenda, GM Vice President and Chief Information Officer. "AT&T's
networking expertise will help us establish closer ties across our global
operations.
"More specifically," Szygenda added, "AT&T's networking platform furthers
our global 'collaborative engineering' concept, which brings together
engineers worldwide via the web to devise on-the-spot design and work process
improvements."
Rick Roscitt, president and CEO of AT&T Solutions, said: "We're delighted
to be an integral part of GM's networking vision for the 21st century. One of
the exciting capabilities of the next-generation network we're building is
that it will afford real-time, global collaboration on product development.
This will enable GM to dramatically shorten its product-development cycles
while controlling costs."
In addition to building GM's next-generation network and providing global
data wide area networking management, AT&T will provide domestic and
international inbound and outbound long-distance voice, data and video
services; local phone service via AT&T Digital Link and corporate calling
cards.
AT&T Solutions will integrate the capabilities of Concert, the AT&T-BT
global joint venture, which will provide global transport for voice and data
services. Together, AT&T Solutions and British Telecom Syncordia Solutions,
BT's network outsourcing subsidiary, will jointly provide managed data, voice
and video services in Europe, Asia and Latin America. BTSS also will manage
relationships with local phone companies overseas.
GM's network utilizes IP-over-SONET (synchronous optical network)
capabilities -- including voice over the Internet (VoIP) transmission -- at
GM's five-building headquarters campus in the Detroit-Warren, Mich., area.
AT&T will engineer the network to interface seamlessly with Automotive
Network eXchange(R) (ANX(R)), an IP-based extranet created by the automotive
industry to enable electronic commerce and data exchange. AT&T is a
certified service provider for ANX.
AT&T Solutions will manage GM's networking capabilities from its Global
Client Support Center in Dublin, Ohio, via the AT&T Solutions Global
Enterprise Management System (GEMS). GEMS produces seamless networking
capabilities -- including predictive management -- by integrating proprietary
software developed at AT&T Labs with best-in-class enterprise-management
software.
About AT&T/AT&T Solutions Group
AT&T (http://www.att.com) is among the world's premier voice and data
communications company, serving more than 80 million customers, including
consumers, businesses and government. With annual revenues of more than
$53 billion and 151,000 employees, AT&T provides services to customers
worldwide.
AT&T Solutions (http://www.attsolutions.com) provides seamless solutions
that maximize the competitive advantage of networking-based electronic
commerce applications. It uses state-of-the-art tools and processes to
operate and manage voice, data, video and Internet/intranet services,
including local and wide area networks, PBXs, voice-processing systems, and
voice and data terminals.