Verizon Business Makes Global Communication Smooth Sailing for Helly Hansen

Verizon Business Makes Global Communication Smooth Sailing for Helly Hansen

August 31, 2006

-- Global Outdoor Clothing Leader Chooses Managed Private IP Network for Mission-Critical Applications and Video Conferencing Services

    READING, England, Aug. 31 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Verizon Business today announced its selection by Helly
Hansen, the global manufacturer of high-performance
clothing and survival products, to provide a Managed
Private IP network connecting its major offices around the
world. The MPLS network will provide secure and reliable
connections between Helly Hansen's mission-critical
headquarters in Oslo, Norway, and seven other major sites
in Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, the U.K. and
the U.S.

    Helly Hansen employs more than 700 employees in 17
countries around the world, all of whom rely on
applications and communications tools hosted at its
headquarters in Norway to run daily business operations.
The company selected Verizon Business not only to manage
the data network connecting its global sites, but also to
provide a secure gateway to ensure that vital business
applications from headquarters are always available.
Verizon Business has installed two routers and dual access
lines, dramatically increasing Helly Hansen's network
capacity to support current and projected voice and data
needs. 

    "We run a whole host of services and business
tools out of our Norwegian office, which all of our other
offices around the world depend on day and night,"
said Einar Lonnum, chief information officer, Helly Hansen.
 "The managed IP network provided by Verizon Business
gives us peace of mind in terms of both service level
agreements and a helpdesk service that actively monitors
the wide area network lines 24/7, helping us to keep our
business operational round-the-clock."

    Making the offering even more attractive was Verizon
Business' complete portfolio of communications tools, which
enable efficient and real-time interaction, Lonnum added.

    Using the Verizon Business IP network, all of Helly
Hansen's offices can access vital business applications
such as Enterprise Resource Planning and videoconferencing.
Helly Hansen also is trialing a Verizon Business
Voice-over-IP service at its headquarters and intends to
eventually deploy VoIP globally.  

    Explained Lonnum: "We already had a MPLS network
in place but decided to re-tender. Verizon Business was
able to offer us twice the bandwidth, the best technical
support and a dedicated account team, all at an extremely
competitive rate. It was no contest really."

    John Irvine, vice president of international marketing
for Verizon Business, said: "Helly Hansen demands a
lot from its network and needs a secure and robust service
to run its critical applications and programmes across all
of its sites around the world. Verizon Business was able to
meet its rigorous demands today, and also provide the extra
flexibility and scalability Helly Hansen needs to continue
developing its global business in the future."

    About Helly Hansen

    Between human will and nature's forces - Norwegian
Helly Hansen is a global leader in action-utility wear for
survival, work and sport. Innovation has been a foundation
of Helly Hansen since the company established in 1877, and
its technical outdoor products are designed to be an
enabling layer between human will and nature's forces.
Helly Hansen is distributed in more than 40 countries, and
the privately owned company had a turnover of 1.35 billion
NOK in 2005. For more information visit
http://www.hellyhansen.com .

    About Verizon Business

    Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications
(NYSE: VZ), is a leading provider of advanced
communications and information technology (IT) solutions to
large business and government customers worldwide. 
Combining unsurpassed global network reach with advanced
technology and professional service capabilities, Verizon
Business delivers innovative and seamless business
solutions to customers around the world.  For more
information, visit http://www.verizonbusiness.com .

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    For more information, please contact:

     Clare Ward
     Verizon Business
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Noor Kheir
     Blanc & Otus
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  Verizon Business