News

The SAS Group designs shared unified comms system for two financial services firms

New phone system, plus consolidated IT infrastructure, helps Compass Advisers and Compass Partners improve operational efficiency

London, 22 February 2007 - The SAS Group, an international provider of IP-based network and communication infrastructure services, today announced it has completed the installation of a shared IP telephony (IPT) and unified communications system for international financial services firms, Compass Advisers and Compass Partners. The SAS Group has also helped the two companies to consolidate a number of disparate IT systems onto a single infrastructure to coincide with the firms moving their London operations into one office. Combined, these installations have streamlined the way in which employees communicate both internally and externally, and have dramatically reduced IT management overheads.

Compass Partners is a private equity firm based in London, whilst Compass Advisers, which has offices in both London and New York, specialises in mergers and acquisitions. Under Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulations, the two firms must operate as separate entities. Previously, to ensure compliance with these rules, the companies ran three completely disparate IT networks; one each at Compass Advisers in New York and London and a further one at Compass Partners’ London office

. In late 2006, with the two London operations moving into the same building – and with much of the existing technology out of warranty and no longer supported by vendors – it was the ideal time for the firms to consolidate and upgrade their IT systems. They therefore approached the SAS Group to design and implement a single voice, data and video network that could be securely partitioned to still ensure regulatory compliance.

“From a business perspective our requirements were very specific, we wanted a single, state-of-the-art infrastructure that could support all our IT needs and reduce management overheads, all without compromising our compliance with industry regulations,” said Andrew Powell, research and IT director, Compass Partners. “We brought the SAS Group on board because it has a thorough understanding of the technology currently available on the market and because it specialises in building bespoke solutions which meet complex business challenges.”

The majority of the firms’ employees need to work remotely, either from home or at client premises. There is also a regular requirement for staff to travel between the London and New York offices. As part of its technology overhaul, Compass Partners and Compass Advisers wanted an IPT and unified communications system that would enable staff to pick up email, voicemail, SMS, fax and instant messages from a single inbox of their choice, wherever they were located. It was particularly vital that all communications could be re-directed to and from employees’ smartphones and PDAs. To meet these needs, the SAS Group recommended a Cisco CallManager IPT system in combination with Cisco Unity and Microsoft Exchange. To ease management, Cisco CallManager is configured so that both companies’ phone systems are hosted on a shared platform, however – to external callers – the firms appear completely separate. “Our staff need to work in multiple locations; in the past this has compromised their ability to stay in touch with colleagues and clients,” continued Powell.

“Our new IPT system was an expensive undertaking and it will take a long time before the reduced call costs we now enjoy pay back the initial investment. However, by combining IPT with unified communications applications, we have greatly improved the productivity of our employees whilst they are on the move.”

To underpin the new IPT system, the SAS Group scoped and built a Cisco-based local area network (LAN) in London. This network is securely partitioned into two virtual LANs to ensure voice and data traffic from the two companies is always kept separate and that staff from one company cannot access the other’s information systems. Class of service and monitoring tools ensure the performance and availability of this new network. Compass Partners and Compass Advisers now share anti-virus protection, a firewall, internet connectivity and other non-sensitive applications. The two companies’ domain name system (DNS) servers, mail applications and sensitive documentation remain separate to ensure confidentiality and compliance with FSA regulations.

The next stage of the project will see the SAS Group install an IP-based virtual private network (VPN) linking the New York and London offices, allowing cheap international voice and video calls. At present, international calls are routed over the costly public telephone network.

“Businesses looking to upgrade their phone systems can look to the experience of Compass Advisers and Compass Partners for a realistic example of what they can expect from IPT,” said Charles Davis, chief executive officer, the SAS Group. “Free or cheaper calls are all well and good, but upfront costs can be significant, so it’s unrealistic for businesses with simple telephony needs to expect a return on investment in the short-to-medium term. It’s only by using IPT in combination with unified communications applications that businesses can improve productivity and recoup their investments.”

The SAS Group is providing ongoing technical support for the new IT infrastructure at Compass Advisers and Compass Partners and works in a consultative role to recommend new technologies that are both relevant to the companies’ needs and compatible with existing solutions.