Trade New Zealand pursues more effective connections

By ADAM GIFFORD

Trade New Zealand is upgrading its international data network from dial-up connection to frame relay, using an outsourcing arrangement that is expected to cost it some $2 million a year.

Telecommunications provider AT&T, the incumbent supplier of managed network and remote access services, won the contract through an open tender.

Trade New Zealand corporate services manager Arama Kukutai said the organisation's 39 international offices would be put on permanent virtual connections, giving faster and more secure response times.

"The main reason for frame relay is it improves the reliability of the network.

"We have a number of applications which share data, which makes a more reliable network critical."

These include the client relationship management system, database software and the organisation's intranet, which cannot be accessed from all offices.

It also uses a knowledge management system, Silent One.

"We know how those applications perform under dial-up, and we expect significant improvement."

For financial management, Trade New Zealand uses a JD Edwards One World system with a web front end, which Mr Kukutai said would also work better under frame relay.

Trade New Zealand is also rolling out a $13.1 million ebusiness project over the next two years, with a consortium led by KPMG Consulting that includes Microsoft, Telstra Saturn and Cisco.