June 15, 2004

By: Kris Sheppard
Website: http://www.1st-in-fitness.com

Easynet and ITC Combine to Help LA Fitness Shed a Few Pounds

Easynet, the pan-European Broadband provider for business, has been engaged by its channel partner ITC Network, the UK’s ‘Experts in Network Security’ consultancy, to provide LA Fitness with an IP connectivity solution, as part of LA Fitness’ wider project to develop a pan-European VPN solution. The objective is to find a more cost efficient way to connect 64 health clubs in the UK and several sites in continental Europe.

LA Fitness decided to review its communications’ infrastructure, because each location has had its own database, which led to data duplication and poor integration. LA Fitness wanted to ensure that their new solution was not only more cost effective, but also gave them the bandwidth flexibility to adopt new applications in the future, which would help the company to generate new revenues. Consequently, ITC performed an evaluation of IP connectivity solutions in the market place and as part of the process, they monitored the Easynet network over 24 hours every three minutes.

Easynet’s service out-performed the other tier one ISPs, which combined with Easynet’s product innovation, competitive pricing and 24/7 account support made it a logical choice for LA Fitness.

We are very happy with the work that Easynet and ITC have done for us, because they have met the basic requirements of any IT project – completed on time and demonstrated a return-on-investment, said Graham Stone, Group IT Manager LA Fitness. Combined with dedicated account support means that both companies have a clear advantage over the competition, because they are focused on delivering IP access solutions which add real value to my company’s bottom line.

The initial roll-out will take place in the UK across the majority of the 64 health clubs which will be connected via 2Mb ADSL lines to the LA Fitness HQ in London. Easynet has been responsible for the roll out after ITC’s referral and is close to completion of the new infrastructure. The new infrastructure will enable employees to share information across the network and ensure that sensitive company data is not exposed to security attacks.

The benefits of working with Easynet are clear – five years ago a leased line connection could cost up to £20,000, now through Easynet using ADSL it is a fraction of that price, said, Roberto Veiga, Director of ITC Network, commenting on the relationship with Easynet. Today the issues facing our customers are pretty stark, cut costs and drive greater efficiency.

Our evaluation of Easynet’s network shows that they are clearly streets ahead of other ISPs in delivering against these customer requirements – we would have no problems recommending Easynet to any of our customers, because they have demonstrated true value-add.

In the near future, this centralised approach to data management will allow LA Fitness to create more integrated applications for areas such as human resources and building management. Ultimately, having more streamlined, accurate information available, which can be transferred at greater speed, will help to improve customer responsiveness. The flexibility of greater bandwidth will also enable LA Fitness to investigate new applications designed to build even greater customer loyalty and offer opportunities for new revenue streams.

We are delighted to have worked with ITC and LA Fitness, because it is a clear demonstration of how we can work with our partners to offer customers very competitive, cost-effective solutions which meet their business needs, said Deborah Collins, Head of Easynet’s Indirect Sales. IP access is a crucial element of any network infrastructure project today and we believe the combination of our committed account support and industry leading products will enable all our partners to add significant value to their end customers.

Author Notes:

Kris Sheppard contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.1st-in-fitness.com.  A source of information and helpful tips on various types of fitness equipment.