Collinson Group Unifies Global Infrastructure With NTT Communications

LONDON, December 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Faster time-to-market and improved efficiency with hybrid IT and Cloud Management Platform   

Collinson Group, a leading provider of Loyalty, Lifestyle Benefits, Assistance and Insurance solutions and NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com), the ICT solutions and international communications business within the NTT Group (NYSE: NTT), announced today that NTT Com will be supporting Collinson Group in its consolidation of IT infrastructure and enhancement of its agile IT ecosystem.

Collinson Group has an extensive portfolio of IT infrastructure assets to support a global base of over 800 blue chip clients globally and 2000 employees across 25 locations. These include internal facilities, external data centers and cloud services, currently provided by several IT infrastructure suppliers. With expansion to new markets constantly on the agenda, Collinson Group is aligning its ICT services with its group strategy of operating and presenting a single business to a global market.

To this end it has enlisted NTT Com to unify its IT infrastructure, and streamline service management and delivery. NTT Com will provide a hybrid cloud infrastructure utilizing NTT Communications Enterprise Cloud service, including bare metal servers, a dedicated private network and security layer and public cloud services managed through a single pane of glass view using NTT Com's Cloud Management Platform. The first phase of delivery has started in November 2016 in the UK, and the consolidation is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.

Chris Lord, CIO, Collinson Group said "We are pleased to have identified NTT Com as a single tier-1 supplier able to support the flexibility of a hybrid infrastructure. We operate in an industry that relies on technical innovation. To successfully serve over 20 million end customers and support our clients worldwide, our IT team needs to provide agile services to meet the needs of the line-of-business applications and support maturing DevOps processes. Working with NTT Com will provide efficiency and drive increased performance. This will allow us to expedite greater control of group ICT costs by migrating to a consumption-based cost model whilst providing the ability to scale IT costs with continued business growth. We look forward to this partnership being a great asset in our growth and expansion."

Bob Welton, Regional Director, Northern Europe, NTT Europe said "Like many successful businesses that have grown through international expansion and acquisition, Collinson Group faced the fragmentation of its IT estate and disparate operating models. NTT Com's cloud transformation and IT as a Service (ITaaS) capabilities are ideally suited to meeting these challenges. Our Cloud Management Platform is tailor-made to facilitate painless management of a hybrid environment so that Collinson Group can have complete visibility of usage and costs in a single screen enabling its IT team to make quicker, more informed decisions. We are confident of delivering Collinson Group's goals of a unified infrastructure."

About Collinson Group

Collinson Group (www.collinsongroup.com) is a global leader in influencing customer behaviour to drive revenue and value for clients. 

The Group offers a unique blend of industry and sector specialists who together provide market-leading experience in delivering products and services across four core capabilities: Loyalty, Lifestyle Benefits, Insurance and Assistance.

Collinson Group provides unrivalled insight and expertise around affluent consumers and frequent travellers, creating and delivering products and services that increase engagement, loyalty and value for customers.

We have 25 years' experience, with 25 global locations, servicing over 800 clients in 170 countries, employing 2,000 staff, and managing over 20 million end customers. Our clients include: MasterCard, VISA, Diners, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Air France KLM and InterContinental Hotels Group.

Collinson Group comprises leading brands including: Priority Pass, Columbus Direct and ICLP.

About NTT Communications Corporation

NTT Communications provides consultancy, architecture, security and cloud services to optimise the information and communications technology (ICT) environments of enterprises. These offerings are backed by the company's worldwide infrastructure, including the leading global tier-1 IP network, Arcstar Universal One™ VPN network reaching 196 countries/regions and 140 secure data centres worldwide.

NTT Communications solutions leverage the global resources of NTT Group companies including Dimension Data, NTT DOCOMO and NTT DATA.

www.eu.ntt.com | @NTT_Europe | www.nttcom.tv

SOURCE NTT Communications