Oral Roberts University Selects Enterasys Over HP and Brocade for Campus Network Upgrade

Leading Christian University Replaces Outmoded Cisco Infrastructure With Cost-Effective, Easily Managed Solution


ANDOVER, MA--(Marketwire - May 3, 2010) -  Enterasys, the network infrastructure and security division of Siemens Enterprise Communications GmbH & Co KG, today announced that Oral Roberts University of Oklahoma has deployed Enterasys solutions to achieve a more automated IT infrastructure providing high-availability connectivity for more than 3,000 students and 700 staff across its main campus. Through Enterasys solutions and support, the University's small IT staff now leverages an easily managed campus network that will support future initiatives such as VoIP and streaming video.

"We evaluated several leading network providers when it came time to replace existing Cisco infrastructure, including HP and Brocade solutions," said Tannie Olsen, CIO with Oral Roberts University. "With Enterasys, we saw an opportunity to not only replace the entire network, but also immediately realize the benefits of the performance, security, management and support features that would have been cost-prohibitive add-ons with other vendors' solutions. We now have a high-end, QoS platform on which we can launch the next-generation services our students and faculty will need as the University grows."

Enterasys engineers and support team members worked closely with the University's network operations staff to meet an aggressive upgrade timetable, replacing the entire network topology in a single weekend. Enterasys Modular and Stackable switches now serve at the network's core and distribution layers, delivering high-speed, reliable network access to all campus network users, including students, faculty, contractors and guests. Over the University's summer break, the deployment's next phase was completed, including the installation of Enterasys Network Management Suite (NMS) and Security Information and Event Manager (SIEM), for granular visibility and control that reaches beyond ports and VLANs down to individual users, applications, and protocols.

"Students love to plug devices into our network, and with SIEM and NMS, no matter how many moves, adds or changes occur in our environment, we can keep everything in view and under control through role-based access controls and network behavior monitoring," Olsen said. "NMS can even manage beyond Enterasys hardware to deliver standards-based control of other vendors' network equipment, including our wireless network equipment. We were told by other vendors that this type of granular control wasn't possible at the price point we required."

The University's IT team also sees great value in Enterasys' award-winning Global Technical Assistance Center (GTAC) and training support programs. "Coming from a Cisco background, I was concerned about being up to speed on the management of our new network," said Carlos Maldonado, network and security administrator for Oral Roberts University. "We have found the training offered by Enterasys to be of excellent quality, and the GTAC team is the best technical support team we have ever worked with. We never have to jump through hoops when we have a question, and they work quickly and responsively to resolve any issues."

About Siemens Enterprise Communications GmbH & Co KG
Siemens Enterprise Communications GmbH & Co KG is a premier provider of end-to-end enterprise communications, including voice, network infrastructure and security solutions that use open, standards-based architectures to unify communications and business applications for a seamless collaboration experience. This award-winning "Open Communications" approach enables organizations to improve productivity and reduce costs through easy-to-deploy solutions that work within existing IT environments, delivering operational efficiencies. It is the foundation for the company's OpenPath® commitment that enables customers to mitigate risk and cost-effectively adopt unified communications. Jointly owned by The Gores Group and Siemens AG, Siemens Enterprise Communications GmbH & Co KG includes Cycos and Enterasys Networks. For more information about Siemens Enterprise Communications GmbH & Co KG or Enterasys please visit www.siemens-enterprise.com or www.enterasys.com

Contact Information:

Contact:
Barry Cioe
Enterasys Networks
+1 978 684 1525
bcioe@enterasys.com


Michelle Barry
BridgeView Marketing
+1 603 570 7533
michelle@bridgeviewmarketing.com