BANGKOK, Thailand - May 9, 2005 - Cisco Systems® announced today that global information company Reuters has deployed the largest Internet Protocol (IP) telephony site in Thailand with 700 Cisco® IP Phone 7960Gs, Cisco IP Phone 7940Gs and Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920s. With systems integration managed by Cisco strategic alliance partner HP, Reuters Thailand is also the first Reuters office in Asia to replace its legacy private branch access (PBX) telephony system with an IP telephony solution that sits on an integrated data, voice, and video IP network.
Running on a core network comprising of Cisco Catalyst 4000 and Catalyst 4500 series switches, Reuters IP telephony network also provides Reuters Thailand's 600 employees with Cisco UnityTM. The Cisco Unity application delivers unified messaging (e-mail, voice, and fax messages managed from a single inbox) to improve communications, boost productivity, and enhance customer service capabilities across an organization.
"The Cisco IP communications solution has been running for several months now and the system is working smoothly. I am very satisfied with the solution and the support provided by HP and Cisco. Our staff can now work more efficiently in terms of leaving and accessing their messages from voice mail or e-mail," said Mr. Chalermpol Tuchinda, technical director, Reuters Thailand.
"Reuters has a plan to implement this phone system across all Reuters offices, as this will enable significant cost savings in long-distance calls since the calls will be transmitted over the IP network. Another feature that will help us reduce costs when our staff go abroad for training or for work is the single number functionality. They can contact another Reuters office at lower cost because they need to use only one number all over the world, be it America or London," he added.
Cisco IP Communications solutions are transforming the way companies do business across the world. Transmitting voice, video, and conferencing applications on a mission-critical IP-based data network has resulted in a paradigm shift that eases the logistical barriers of time zones and geographic distances between companies and their branch offices, teleworkers, customers, partners, and vendors. It simplifies the process of connecting with customers, while enhancing the value of interactions and increasing personalization with rich media and video.
In 2001, Reuters has invested 46 million Thai baht (US$1.18 million) to create a state-of-the-art facility now employing about 554 staff including software development, testing and project management professionals in Thailand. Reuters Software (Thailand) Ltd. (RSTL) oversees development and support responsibility for real-time financial applications for market data display and analysis, order routing, transaction processing, news content creation and data distribution. Since its opening, RSTL has enabled Reuters to improve customer service and reduce costs by consolidating development activities that previously took place in multiple locations. In 2004, RSTL was formally certified at Level 5 of the Software Engineering Institute's CMMI model for Software Process Improvement (SPI). RSTL is the 42nd organisation globally, the first in Southeast Asia and the first in Thailand to achieve CMMI Level 5 certification.
"Reuters Thailand has seen how IP communications results in more efficient interactions at the individual level, facilitating improved productivity that progresses over time as value-added applications and services are deployed throughout the extended enterprise. We believe more companies in Thailand will start to recognise this," said Mr. Asawin Kangvolkij, managing director, Thailand, Cisco Systems.
About Reuters
Reuters (www.reuters.com), the global information company, provides indispensable information tailored for professionals in the financial services, media and corporate markets. Its trusted information drives decision making across the globe based on a reputation for speed, accuracy and independence. Reuters has 14,500 staff in 91 countries. This includes 2,300 editorial staff in 196 bureaux serving 129 countries, making Reuters the world's largest international multimedia news agency. In 2004, Reuters Group revenues were £2.9 billion.
