texas excavation safety system digs at&t …about tess texas excavation safety system (tess) is...
TRANSCRIPT
“With nearly 2 million incoming and
8 million outgoing calls expected this
year alone, we needed a reliable
provider that could help us manage
our voice and data network so we
could run our business as efficiently
as possible,” said Lee Marrs, president,
Texas Excavation Safety System.
Texas Excavation Safety System Digs AT&TCompanies’ Data Center Hosting Service
SGB02251-1 • December 2005
n order to seamlessly
integrate security, voice and
support services, network circuits
and environmental systems into
one reliable operations center,
Texas Excavation Safety System
(TESS), a public safety service
for businesses in Texas, enlisted
the help of the new AT&T family
of companies for data center
hosting services.
Since implementation, TESS has spent
less time and resources managing its
network. The organization is now able
to focus on its more than 700 member
companies throughout the state.
IBecause the SBC Internet Data Center
(IDC) helps ensure that TESS is always
up and running, the organization is
now able to keep its members notified
of potential excavation sites, even
during power outages.
“The new AT&T companies and the
AT&T account team helped us bring
all of our services together to meet
our voice and data needs,” said Lee
Marrs, president, Texas Excavation
Safety System. “Because of this,
employees have spent less time
fighting equipment failures, and we’re
also saving a tremendous amount in
maintenance costs.”
Texas Excavation Safety System (TESS),
a nonprofit organization that serves as
a public safety service for companies
in Texas, helps businesses prevent
damages to vital buried lines
before excavation.
When companies in Texas need to
begin a dig, they contact TESS,
which has been in operation since
1987 TESS notifies owners of buried
facilities so that the location of all
lines can be marked ahead of time.
This facilitates damage prevention
and ensures public safety. By law, TESS
T E X A S E XC AVAT I O N S A F E T Y SY S T E M
Texas Excavation Safety System
Situation: TESS needed to meet government regulations and integrate its systems into a single,reliable operations center
Solution: AT&T family of companies1 provide data center hosting with IDCs
Result: TESS spends less time and resources managing the network, allowing for more focus on other business-critical operations
About TESS
Texas Excavation Safety System (TESS) is a nonprofit organization that serves as a public safety service for companies in Texas
and helps businesses prevent damages to vital buried lines before excavation.
AT&T Inc. is one of the world’s
largest telecommunications holding
companies and is the largest in the
United States. Operating globally under
the AT&T brand, AT&T companies are
recognized as the leading worldwide
providers of IP-based communications
services to business and as leading
U.S. providers of high-speed DSL
Internet, local and long distance
voice, and directory publishing and
advertising services.
AT&T Inc. holds a 60 percent own-
ership interest in Cingular Wireless,
which is the No. 1 U.S. wireless
services provider with more than
52 million wireless customers. For
more information about AT&T products
and services, contact your local
AT&T technical sales representative,
or visit www.TheNewATT.com.
Why AT&T Companies?“We’re the people you call before
you dig,” said Marrs. “And with nearly
2 million incoming and 8 million
outgoing calls expected this year
alone, we needed a reliable provider
that could help us manage our voice
and data network so we could run our
business as efficiently as possible.”
In 2001, TESS recognized the need
for more secure and reliable services
and approached the AT&T family of
companies for a solution. AT&T
companies recommended the imple-
mentation of a data center hosting
solution, an equipment-housing
service that offers on-site technical
support, scalable bandwidth and
network transport in a fault-tolerant
and secure environment within a
state-of-the-art Internet data center.
The Internet Data Centers (IDCs)
are designed with redundant power
supplies, dual-grid access, and
completely redundant power backups
to ensure a highly available solution
and maximum uptime for TESS’ voice
and data applications. In addition,
all systems are monitored by the
on-site 24/7 Operations System
Center, which allows TESS to virtually
monitor its network circuits, fire
protection, environmental controls
and security systems.
The data center hosting solution
has provided TESS with lower
maintenance costs, increased uptime
and productivity. Because the IDC
is managed by AT&T companies,
employees no longer worry about
an equipment failure.
“We rely entirely on AT&T companies
to keep us connected at all times,
even during power failures and bad
weather, as required by law,” said Marrs.
TESS also wanted to consolidate its
services with one provider in order to
reduce expenses. TESS put its trust in
AT&T companies for its local, long
distance and toll-free calling services.
It continues to rely on AT&T companies
for SBC Yahoo!® DSL2 and Cingular?
Wireless service. Further, TESS has
renewed its contract for long distance
voice services and extended its IDC
services contract for another five years.
1 Services provided by former SBC companies,
which are now part of the new AT&T Inc.
2 With the close of its acquisition of AT&T Corp.,
SBC companies are currently making the
necessary legal and regulatory filings required
to offer products and services under the new
AT&T brand.
must provide its services 24 hours
a day, 365 days a year. Therefore,
reliable voice and data services are
critical to the organization.
Before 2001, TESS relied on a main-
frame to support traffic; but the
organization soon realized that it
wasn’t secure or immune to power
outages. In addition, TESS was
spending a great deal of time, money,
and energy using various telecomm
and equipment vendors instead of
one point of contact.
By law, TESS must provide its
services 24 hours a day, 365 days
a year. Therefore, reliable voice
and data services are critical to
the organization.