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BT fuses Cisco into Orica network

The upgrade forms part of Orica’s digital transformation.

Telecommunications and network provider BT has ignited a project with commercial explosives and blasting systems provider Orica to implement a new managed network service using Cisco's SD-WAN technology.

The upgrade forms part of Orica’s digital transformation and will support the migration of applications and services to the cloud.

Melbourne-headquartered Orica operates in more than 100 countries and has more than 13,000 employees, many of which are deployed in remote worksites and rely on digital solutions and automation to create productive blast outcomes for customers. 

For Orica’s IT team, BT will provide a single dashboard with comprehensive visibility of network traffic flows, infrastructure monitoring, applications performance management tools, end-user experience monitoring, security and event logging and inventory discovery. 

Wrapped in ITIL service management, the dashboard will provide the capability to optimise an individual application’s performance to match business needs.

BT will also help Orica enhance cyber security across the new network and extend it into the manufacturing environment. BT’s security experts will deploy and manage a range of security solutions, including Cisco firewalls and an enhanced remote access solution for Orica’s mobile workforce.

The two companies have been working together for about five years. Orica CTO Angus Melbourne said the company looked at a number of different providers prior to picking BT. 

“We considered many technology and service options for our digital transformation and eventually chose BT, as it offers a fully managed service built around our preferred technical solution covering Orica’s global locations. Our network transformation will not only result in improved service but also reduce the cost of our global network,” Melbourne said.