A European consumer goods company plans to integrate while also preparing to spin off.
BackgroundThe customer is a very large corporation with more than 350 offices in all parts of the world. Its network is divided into three major regions, each with a major data center. Within the regions, the different companies share the network back to the data centers but generally have different office locations within the region. The customer has a long history with Equant, which provides FR to the customer within Europe. Within the other regions, other competitors are the main providers. About one and one-half years ago, the customer issued an RFP to build a network to connect its three regions and data centers. It wanted any-to-any connectivity and a single provider because it felt it would be easier to support major application initiatives with such an architecture. An ERP application, SAP, was the leading application that drove the need for better cross-region connectivity. Equant won the RFP with IP VPN (MPLS). Customer Issues/ObjectivesMore recently, a major issue for the customer has been preparation for a possible divestiture of subsidiary companies. The divestiture of companies and the resulting separation of the networks were the compelling events that required the customer to take action. The account team had a good relationship with the customer. Therefore, as they became aware of the looming divestiture issue, they decided to take the initiative to develop a solution for their customer. As the incumbent provider of service within Europe, Equant had everything to lose. If the customer went out to bid, the risk of loss was significant. Any major migration to separate the existing networks would likely require significant investment in terms of dual infrastructures for a period of time and in terms of nonrecurring charges. The account team developed a plan that would greatly reduce these charges through the creative use of Equant's new feature: the VPN bridge. The VPN bridge is designed to act as a bridge or link between an FR network and an IP VPN. Using the VPN bridge for the customer's FR network within Europe, the account team was able to develop a plan to separate the customer's individual networks without the need for duplicate local access circuits, new access routers, or most of the one-time charges the customer would have incurred if it had tried to replace the existing Equant network with another provider's network service. Avoiding these expenses proved to be a strong motivator and was ultimately instrumental in keeping the customer's business. The Account Team's Keys to SuccessThe account team credits their success in retaining the customer to several items. The following success factors are examples:
VPN bridgeAs mentioned earlier, the VPN bridge was an important part of building a creative and technical solution that, in the end, allowed the customer to deal with its compelling event in such a way that the cost and risk were minimized compared with the alternatives that other providers offered.
Case Study ConclusionTo summarize, from an SP account and opportunity relationship perspective you should always:
|