BT takes the risk out of Fair Isaac`s communication

The business of supplying advanced risk management solutions to large companies that provide credit facilities to their customers is not a matter of small change. Requiring an effective communication connection to enable it to link up with the rest of the world, the Johannesburg branch of business solutions company Fair Isaac has implemented a Concert Frame Relay Service provided by British Telecommunications (BT). The result - a solution that is paying for itself.

Fair Isaac`s Johannesburg office required a permanent high-speed connection to its intranet, as well as to its Birmingham, UK, branch, to enable smooth communications and allow for online development work to be performed. The company`s solutions, which help customers in the retail, banking, insurance, healthcare and telecomms sectors manage risk, require round-the-clock connectivity.

After investigating the options, Fair Isaac has installed a Concert Frame Relay Service, provided by BT. "Compared to other private network alternatives, Concert Frame Relay Service offers us lower total cost of ownership and value-for money," said Klaas van Wyk de Vries, director of South African operations at Fair Isaac. "A dedicated line would not have been cost-effective which is why we opted for the Frame Relay solution. We expect that the costs saved will reverse the installation costs in the very near future."

Running since August 1999, the Concert Frame Relay Service offers a high-speed communications link, used mostly for intranet access and remote development work. Production work is sent between the various branches and data sent down the pipe includes e-mails, Excel, Word, PowerPoint as well as small database files.

Fair Isaac is already experiencing distinct business benefits from having moved from an eight K dial-up, to the current 64K link.

"Communications speed has increased dramatically, which has improved turn-around time to customers," commented van Wyk de Vries. Additionally, the company previously required a sub-contractor to maintain its local IT infrastructure. With the Concert Frame Relay Service, which provides total cost of ownership benefits, the Johannesburg server is remotely managed from Birmingham, which results in cost-savings and faster turn-around on IT problems.

With a scoring system to rate creditworthiness, Fair Isaac provides tools for risk analysis. Faire Isaac scorecards are installed on credit grantor`s mainframe systems and are used to evaluate the risk of credit applicants. Development of these scorecards is done through statistical analyses of client databases, using the Frame Relay link.

What this process means is that Fair Isaac always has to be in contact with its customers, as well as with its other offices worldwide. The company has a head office in San Rafael, just outside San Francisco and regional headquarters in Birmingham, England, in addition to 17 offices worldwide. "We help companies make faster, more profitable credit-risk decisions about customers and operations while providing decision-making solutions, including analysis, data management and mining, software and consulting," said van Wyk de Vries. "It is important that the technology we use can enhance the service we give our customers. We chose BT because it offers global expertise with local capabilities. As our UK operations work closely with the service provider, BT was an obvious choice."

Concert Frame Relay Service is a fully managed networking solution that supports high-speed and time-sensitive data applications. It supports sporadic bursts of traffic at high speeds without requiring large, uneconomical bandwidth reserves. Features of the Service include global help desks that offer 24x7 customer support and regional help desks provide in-country support during business hours.

"As a leading global communications company, BT understands the communications requirements of its customers and assists them with deploying the appropriate technology to deliver business benefits," said Peter van Heerden, account manager at BT Southern Africa. "With the Concert Frame Relay Service, Fair Isaac is able to increase productivity and response times, which is good news for its customers."

Due to the successful implementation of the solution, Fair Isaac in Spain is considering implementing a similar solution through BT. "The Concert Frame Relay Service has connected us to the online world, which has meant that we can now do business in real time," commented van Wyk de Vries. "The requirements that we have of our network in the future will be the constant growth of bandwidth. This will tie in with the expansion of our local office, thereby offering our clients better levels of support.