Press releases
Telewest Business powers British Energy’s business continuity
strategy
22nd September, 2005. British Energy, the UK’s largest producer
of electricity has deployed a managed internet service from
Telewest Business to help bolster its business continuity
capabilities and further improve security and efficiency in the
case of unforeseen disasters. The managed internet will support
British Energy’s communications at its head offices in Barnwood,
Gloucester.
Previously, British Energy was reliant on a number of different
network access methods: email traffic was delivered via a
standalone leased line, remote access via a dial-up RAS solution,
and internet browsing used an alternative dual homed internet
service provider (ISP) solution. Employees that rely on the network
daily to support the provision of energy found the existing
connectivity very restrictive and network services had become
cumbersome and difficult to manage.
The company made a decision to consolidate all incumbent network
access services into one resilient solution that would offer the
organisation more flexibility and tie up fewer resources. This
would also ensure lines of communications to keep data and voice
traffic flowing in case of an unforeseen event. The contract was
awarded to Telewest Business following several months of rigid
testing to ensure that all required systems and applications could
be supported by the new infrastructure.
As a part of the project, Telewest Business will deliver a
managed internet service comprising dual high bandwidth internet
leased lines of 8Mb capacity and twin managed routers. The service
will also have in-built capacity for expansion, expected to take
place in the following two years. Managed service internet from
Telewest Business will allow British Energy to stream all traffic,
including browsing, email and remote access via internet protocol
virtual private network (IPVPN). In addition, British Energy will
benefit from a direct connectivity to the Telewest fibre network in
Gloucester, as well as increased network resilience.
“For a nuclear power generator such as British Energy, business
continuity is vital and working with three different network
technologies has been very challenging. That’s why a managed
internet service gives us a much needed break,” said Andy Reeley,
Internet Project Manager, British Energy. “It will make it easier
for our IT staff to manage the network, while our employees will
gain a faster access to company resources whether they work from
the office or remotely.” Changes to its network infrastructure and
deployment of a managed IPVPN carried out by Telewest Business will
now ensure that network is always available, secure and
less-intensive to manage, he concluded.