Online investment firm Scottrade has expanded the nationwide data and network services it uses from Qwest Communications International with a new five-year agreement.
St. Louis-based Scottrade has recently selected Qwest’s GeoMax and QWave data networking products to provide data circuits connecting its new Phoenix-area data centre to Scottrade headquarters in St. Louis. The company has more than 400 branch offices nationwide that use Qwest iQ Networking services based on MPLS technology for wide-area networking.
Scottrade will use Qwest’s data connections to support its online trading platforms, deliver market research data and maintain the performance of the company’s operations. A multi-protocol, data networking product, Qwest GeoMax delivers fiber-optic transport services.
Teresa Taylor, executive vice president of Qwest business markets group, said: “Qwest continues to build the Scottrade relationship, using a variety of solutions to keep them at the forefront of the online brokerage industry. Scottrade is a good example of how Qwest merges innovative design with purpose-built networks to improve a company’s performance while helping lower costs.”
In addition to GeoMax, Qwest provides Scottrade its network connectivity using QWave, a private, point-to-point service delivered over Qwest’s long-haul, national network. This five-year contract also adds the data products available to Scottrade’s existing portfolio of Qwest products. Through previous agreements, Scottrade also designed new networks using Qwest’s MPLS technology, Qwest iQ Networking and CPE products.
Ian Patterson, chief information officer of Scottrade, said: “Qwest continues to understand the dynamics of our business and collaborates with us on how to best leverage its network. Because of our partnership with Qwest, we can continue to provide our customers with the best online trading experience.”
