EMS Global strikes deal with another major British telco

By PETER GRIFFIN

Network security company EMS Global has secured a second major telco as a customer in Britain, with an agreement to supply its managed security services to cable TV and business telecoms operator NTL.

That sees both NTL and British Telecom, which EMS Global recently won as a customer, pitching the security services to their thousands of corporate clients.

The relationship with the carriers is similar to that shared with Telecom New Zealand, which sells the Safecom security product which EMS GLobal co-developed.

EMS Global's European managing director, John McEwan, said NTL, which emerged out of chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late last year, would require EMS Global to train up its 600 person sales force to sell the security services. "NTL's undergoing a rudimentary reorganisation, it's capex hungry. But it hasn't deserted its business customers," said McEwan.

EMS Global had already picked up recruitment company Blue Arrow through the NTL relationship. BT had won seven corporate clients for EMS Global's Cortex service, Ultimus.

Cortex adds a security layer to protect traffic passing over IP (internet protocol) based communications networks. It is operated largely from the networks of the telcos partnering with EMS Global.

With 11 people based in its London office and a data centre based in London's docklands region, EMS Global was now going after second-tier telcos and service integrators for more business.

McEwan said there was opportunity to win business throughout Europe, where a handful of major carriers are recovering from the worst period in the telecommunications sector's history. But EMS Global was concentrating its resources on Britain.

EMS Global had expected to be cashflow positive this month, but has pushed that target into the second quarter of the year due to higher than expected capital expenditure requirements.

The company's deals with BT and NTL require it to contribute to network set-up costs. McEwan said the company had enough funding to see it into the black.

In 2001, European tech venture capitalist 3i put around $17 million into EMS Global for a 35 per cent stake. That was followed last year by TMT Ventures' $5 million investment.