2. Customer:
Scottrade
www.scottrade.com
Business Challenge:
Online brokerage firm Scottrade needed
a secure, scalable solution to meet the
rapidly expanding and very diverse voice
and data needs of its more than 290
branches.
Solution:
CenturyLink IQ™
Private Port links
Scottrade headquarters with its
branches via a flexible, scalable and
reliable MPLS-based private VPN
service that combines voice and data
applications onto a single cost-effective
network.
Benefits and Results:
Scottrade predicts an 18-24 month•
return on investment (ROI) with
CenturyLink IQ™
Private Port
Scottrade customers have reliable•
access to branch managers and
brokers
To support Scottrade’s plans to reach•
500 branch offices by 2010, the
network can easily expand
With security a vital issue in the•
financial services arena, CenturyLink
worked in close partnership with
Scottrade to build security and
regulatory compliance into the
network
Next-generation CenturyLink•
network paves the way for expanded
applications and capabilities, including
a more reliable backup strategy
Capacity of three to five times normal•
volume for potential customer service
spikes is available with CenturyLink
burstable circuits
Scottrade
Scottrade has been a leader in the brokerage industry for more than
25 years. A pillar of the company’s success is Scottrade’s adoption of
advanced technologies to optimize the online trading experience and
enhance its customer service.
While the bulk of the trading occurs online, the Scottrade network of
nearly 300 branch locations is key to the company from a customer
service perspective. “When you call Scottrade, you are routed from
our central location to your local branch. Right away you’re talking to
the broker or branch manager you’ve been working with for years.
It’s not a centralized call center operation,” said Ian Patterson, CIO,
Scottrade. “We make sure we have the capabilities and connectivity to
support very personal service at every one of our branches,” explained
Patterson.
FACING THE CHALLENGES
To enhance its excellent service for its customers’ 1.6 million accounts,
the company plans to expand its branches to 500 locations by 2010. In
2005, Scottrade began planning for that growth, recognizing that if the
company did nothing, it would be over-subscribed in the near-term on
the existing private network serving its branches. “We began to look
for a new way to securely, reliably handle this traffic today and in the
future,” said Patterson.
One of the challenges that Scottrade faced was that these branches
were located across the U.S., and calls needed to be routed rapidly
between each branch and the corporate location in St. Louis, Missouri.
As a financial services firm, Scottrade needed to meet stringent
security requirements.
“The connectivity varies, with fractal T-1 in some branches and full T-1
in others, and that was another challenge. Also, we do workflow and
scanning operations from our branches, not just voice, and we’re trying
to be paperless,” explained Patterson.
*These results are unique to this entity and should not
be considered an indication of the amount of savings or
improvements, if any, that may be realized by any other
entity subscribing to comparable services.
3. “Our total cost-of-ownership models look at an 18-to
24-month payback, and that was one reason to choose Qwest
iQ Private Port. But our customer commitment was another
important reason: our branches are our customer lifelines, and
iQ Networking is our lifeline to our branches. Today, Qwest
continues to deliver from the cost, capabilities, service and
support perspectives.”
—Ian Patterson, CIO
PROVIDING A SUCCESSFUL SOLUTION
Scottrade selected CenturyLink IQ™
Private Port based
on the service capabilities, cost efficiency, and the
company’s existing relationship with CenturyLink. “We
did due diligence for about three months and looked at
all the key vendors. We saw that Qwest could deliver
the right resources and the right products. For example,
Qwest has been doing multi-protocol label switching
(MPLS) longer than any other provider in the U.S. They
are already a strong partner with us on the Cisco® side,
and we knew that Qwest would work with us as we
grow,” said Patterson.
The CenturyLink IQ™
Private Port MPLS-based network
connects the nearly 300 Scottrade branches with the
company headquarters in Missouri. Voice and data are
converged for cost efficiency and the Cisco switches,
firewalls, security devices and other hardware are
located at each individual branch.
DELIVERING RESULTS
“People often think of CIOs as technology guys, but
I really consider myself a businessman first,” said
Patterson. “It was vital to me to ensure that the new
network could support a growing and changing group
of new applications and capabilities for our branches. I
didn’t want just a bigger pipe, but a network with the
flexibility and scalability to help us serve our clients even
better in new ways. Qwest worked diligently with us to
come up with exactly the right solution for Scottrade,”
Patterson added.
CenturyLink IQ™
Private Port is delivering a wide range
of benefits to Scottrade, including the following:
LOW COST, HIGH VALUE
“We saw the total value of Qwest MPLS in terms of
impact, cost over time, and also for cost mitigation.
As on online financial services company, there is high
potential to lose customers if we have an Internet
outage, so the one-on-one interaction between
branches and customers that we have with Private Port
is even more critical to keep the customer experience
seamless,” said Patterson.
SECURITY
“Security is key, plus I’ve got regulatory needs as a
financial services business. Qwest worked closely with
us to make sure that we’re covered,” Patterson noted.
RELIABILITY
CenturyLink’s state-of-the-art Internet protocol (IP)
backbone eliminates congestion, and Scottrade’s
dedicated CenturyLink IQ™
Private Port is backed by a
service level agreement (SLA).
(continued on back cover)
*These results are unique to this entity and should not be considered an indication of
the amount of savings or improvements, if any, that may be realized by any other entity
subscribing to comparable services.
