Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe (SMBCE), one of the world's leading global investment banks, plans to build a new 1.6 million local area network, following its move to new headquarters in the City of London.
The new communications infrastructure will support the banking giant's 700-strong UK employee base through enhanced service levels, in addition to reducing costs, according to SMBCE.
Orange Business Services has been signed up to design and build the LAN, which will be based on Cisco's networking technology.
As yet, no timescales for completion of the build have been provided.
"As a leading financial services group, expanding our customer base and providing more customer-focused products and services are key objectives for us," said Gary Biggerstaff of SMBCE.
"The LAN will help us achieve these as a secure, cost-effective network will allow our staff to stay connected at all times."
Orange's deal with SMBCE follows a similar high-profile contract with tobacco giant British American Tobacco (BAT), which signed a $20 million three-year contract extension just over a month ago.
Under the agreement, Orange will provide global WAN connectivity and telecommunication services for BAT's 30,000 networked users in 85 countries.
"This new agreement brings both organisations into a new phase," said Phil Cook, chief information officer at BAT, when the deal was announced.
