AT&T ensures The Co-operators stays connected.

Sandra Baskerville has got a big job on her hands. As Director of Architecture for The Co-operators, she is responsible for a team of 20 who design and develop the company's IT infrastructure that services a staff of more than 5,000 across Canada. Additionally, her team is responsible for choosing the right vendors and technologies to meet the rapidly changing needs of doing business in today's complex environment.

Although the IS department is quite large, the company chooses to outsource a number of operational aspects of the business, including network management and remote access. "It's about core competencies," said Baskerville. "Our thought is 'why reinvent the wheel?' We think it's a better idea to leverage the learnings of the experts."

And with the responsibility of protecting 1.2 million Canadian drivers, 832,000 homes and the lives of 519,000 Canadians, the company has more important things to look after than managing the corporate network. So The Co-operators looked to AT&T.

AT&T provides The Co-operators with secure Remote Access Services (RAS) for its traveling staff and agents across the country, allowing them to access critical corporate applications through the Internet no matter where they are. Offering simultaneous Internet and intranet access, around-the-clock helpdesk support, and firewall security, RAS enables agents to connect securely, maintain productivity and improve efficiency on the road or at home.

"Our agents cover wide areas and as a result, they travel quite a bit. Remote access gives them and our traveling staff a lot more flexibility in terms of working hours to be able to access applications, mail services, and to stay in touch when they're not in the office," said Baskerville. "Being able to connect outside the office helps them fit work into their lives which is so important these days. If we can make things easier for our employees, then it's a good thing."

Peter Tingley, Director of IS Systems Services at The Co-operators, agrees. "Using AT&T 's Remote Access Services allows Co-operators staff to work from home and at unconventional hours as required," he said. "Having access to our corporate mail services, intranet and Notes team databases allows our staff to be 'in touch' 24x7x365. Access to mainframe-based customer information and access to certain policy systems also allow staff to access important information without going back into the office."

Baskerville said they looked at other options, but AT&T came out on top. "From a services and price perspective, the AT&T' solution meets our needs. They're actually one of the few solutions that works within our infrastructure," she said.

"AT&T currently provides all Co-operators remote access services regardless of business department or geography," added Tingley. "From a standardization perspective and ease of support, AT&T provides services across our operating system platform. Other remote access solutions have been utilized in the past, however none have had the high availability along with the low support needs of any service used thus far."

Global coverage was another key consideration when choosing AT&T 's services, as The Co-operators often operates in very remote locations. "Unlike many other providers, AT&T offers service in all the areas we need. We have locations across the country, a subsidiary in Ireland, and our executives often travel to Europe and South America, and AT&T works everywhere. They are also the only one which has the service levels that are required to run our business," added Baskerville.

However, service levels are just one of many important components in a successful network services arrangement. According to Baskerville, companies need to look at a number of options including: cost of the service, service capabilities, viability of the provider, level of innovation and depending on the service, the amount of flexibility to meet the company's needs. "It's important that it's not a cookie-cutter solution and that you can tailor it to your individual requirements," she said. " AT&T really exceeds in all areas."

"The responsiveness we get from AT&T is on the high end. They really work hard to ensure their service is meeting customer expectations. We deal with a lot of providers and I can't say that holds true for most of them. AT&T is very responsive, very skilled and very professional," Baskerville added.

According to Tingley, the company values its relationship with AT&T. " AT&T displays a customer-oriented approach to managing their customers," he said. "Integrity, thoroughness and quality in their solution offering to our organization shine through."

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