Leading Supply Chain Management Company Taps Cisco AS5800 for Remote Access
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- April 21, 1999 -- Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced Manhattan Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ: MANH), a leading provider of supply chain execution systems, has deployed the Cisco AS5800 access server for enterprise-wide remote access. With the Cisco AS5800, Manhattan Associates' employees can access the Internet, e-mail, customer information and technical data from any location around the world.
The Cisco AS5800 is the latest entry into Cisco's award-winning AS5x00 family of universal access servers, providing both analog modem and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) support over the same bearer line, and world-wide dial access by providing multiple trunk-line signaling protocols.
"Manhattan Associates' decision to embrace the New World vision of IP-based networks will serve as a competitive advantage for them in the future," said Jack Musgrove, director of Cisco's Dial Access Business Unit. "By deploying such a robust remote access solution, Manhattan has made a strategic decision to build a networking infrastructure that will scale as the company enjoys tremendous growth."
Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., with offices across the globe, Manhattan Associates has seen explosive growth in its employee base over the last four years. In 1998 alone, the company grew from 191 to 560 members and increased revenues by 91 percent, compared to the previous year. To support this rapid explosion, the company has stepped-up its hiring efforts and invested in state-of-the-art network resources to support the growing employee base.
In 1998, the company determined it was in need of a robust, scalable remote access solution that could meet the current needs of Manhattan Associates's 600+ employees around the world. In addition, the company wanted a long-term solution that could easily support future growth.
"When I came on board in May, our company's growing personnel roster in Atlanta, Raleigh, N.C., and various field locations, was putting enormous pressure on the company's remote access facilities," said Ray Cabral, senior network engineer at Manhattan Associates. "A large percentage of the company's employees work in the field as either sales representatives or consultants. Since these individuals often work at customer sites, they need to dial in to the company's central server to access e-mail, sales demonstrations, technical files and customer information."
Cisco AS5800 - A Long-Term Solution With Robust Functionality
After thoroughly reviewing a number of competitive offerings, Manhattan Associates decided on the Cisco AS5800 server for its scalability, dedicated dial out facility and compatibility with existing network infrastructure."The AS5800 is so robust it can easily support our current employee base," Cabral noted. "And the AS5800's large capacity, insures that we will be able to scale as our company grows."
For Manhattan Associates, a key feature of the AS5800 is the unique dial out capabilities, which allows employees to dial out from the company's internal server into a customer's network to diagnose technical problems or assist on-site consultants.
"We were impressed with Cisco's ability to offer dial out functionality that was compatible with our customers existing network environments," added Cabral. "With close to 200 systems analysts, we need to be able to monitor activity at our customers' sites and troubleshoot on the spot. The AS5800 allows us to dial out over the network and directly connect to our customers' sites. Currently 95 percent of our dial out traffic runs through the 5800 and we are confident it can continue to support us as we grow this segment of our business. In a nutshell, this was a long-term investment that is already paying for itself."
About Manhattan Associates
Manhattan Associates, based in Atlanta, Ga., provides information technology solutions that enable the efficient movement of goods throughout the supply chain. Currently, the company has more than 375 customers worldwide. Manhattan Associates is the first and only supply chain execution solutions company to guarantee ongoing compliance to qualified customers with the top 100 retailers' specific guidelines, related to shipping and content labels, VICS standards, and printed manifests.Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet.Cisco, Cisco IOS, Cisco Systems, and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
