Cisco signs up Lloyd's of London

Another big win for converged voice and data...

Cisco has announced a £1.4m contract win for its IP voice and data networks - the giant insurance market, Lloyd's of London. The system will eventually cover 2,500 users, with an expected saving of £4m over the next four years. The implementation will be carried out by the Information Technology Group, in collaboration with BT's consulting arm Syntegra. While cash savings are an important part of the deal, Lloyd's also hopes to roll out a number of clever data functions across the network, such as voice recognition and sending faxes from PCs. Cisco has announced a string of contract wins for its AVVID converged voice and data architecture, giving it an apparent lead over its rivals in this emerging market. However, the market is still too young for a real winner to emerge. Steve Cramoysan, analyst at Gartner, said: "The Cisco PR machine is very strong, and Cisco's leadership could just be a perception. "I think it's very difficult to predict who will be the long term winners in this market, and these early contract wins don't prove anything."