PARIS, June 1st, 2004 -- Groupe SEB, inventor of non-stick cookware and known internationally by its home appliance brands including Calor, Krups, Moulinex, Rowenta, SEB, Tefal and T-Fal, has signed a global deal with AT&T for the supply of a global managed Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network (IP VPN) .
The €2.6 million agreement represents a two-year contract renewal with AT&T, which will service over 60 Groupe SEB locations and hundreds of travelling personnel across Europe, Middle East and Africa, the U.S., Canada, Latin America, China and Asia Pacific.
AT&T will provide the French-based company with a global managed VPN, which allows secure data transmission through both the AT&T Global Network (AGN) and over the public Internet.
Commenting on the agreement, Rémi Descosse, Groupe SEB's Senior Executive Vice-President for Industrial Operations, said the decision to renew with AT&T was based on Groupe SEB's increasing need for world-class network infrastructure, in addition to the continuing strong existing relationship between the two companies.
"As the world leader in small domestic equipment, Groupe SEB's continued success is increasingly reliant on effective, reliable communications supported by very best technical capabilities," said Mr Descosse. "Groupe SEB's relationship with AT&T reflects our desire for an adaptable and flexible networking provider to support our business critical systems in a highly competitive environment."
AT&T's managed services are expected to provide greater cost predictability, improved price/performance ratio, and better network access control by differentiating between the needs of different categories of Groupe SEB users.
AT&T's VPN service is provided over the AT&T Global Network (AGN), a global Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) based infrastructure, currently reaching more than 130 cities worldwide.
About Groupe SEB:
Group SEB is the world leader in Small Domestic equipment. Its well-known brands are Krups, Rowenta, Moulinex and Tefal. Its corporate mission is to offer consumers the market¹s most relevant and most inventive range of products. Products are sold in five continents with a turnover of 2.3 billion euro in 2003. Groupe SEB employs 15.780 people all over the world. Groupe SEB is listed on the French Stock Exchange
About AT&T
For more than 125 years, AT&T (NYSE "T") has been known for unparalleled quality and reliability in communications. Backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T Labs, the company is a global leader in local, long distance, Internet and transaction-based voice and data services.
