[London, ENGLAND] Global Internet carrier PSINet has signed
a partnership deal with UK plc subsidiary CWB to provide
e-commerce and web hosting services for financial institutions.
Based in London and New York, CWB is a supplier of e-commerce
and other solutions to the financial services sector. Founded
in 1994 by Christiane Wuillamie, it is still a relatively small
company, employing just 200 people. However, it has a solid
reputation in its market sector, and numbers Deutsche Bank, HSBC,
Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital, JP Morgan and Ameritrade among
its clients.
For PSINet, the deal will add skills and help to boost
its business in a vitally important market, especially in
Europe where it controls continental operations from Geneva,
Switzerland.
Malcolm Johnston, director of strategy and marketing at
PSINet, said the initiative would bring enormous benefit
to the company’s financial customers.
“Understanding our customers’ business comes first in Web
hosting. Our collaboration with CWB is driven by the
recognition that performance assured e-commerce services
are vital to financial services clients if they are to
outsource this area of their business,” said Johnston.
Speaking for CWB, Chief Executive Hugh Hughes commented
that e-business within the financial sector is driven by
system performance and water-tight security.
“PSINet’s presence and strength in the major business markets
of the world puts it at the top of the growing global hosting
demand, and provides financial institutions with the confidence
their shareholders need,” said Hughes.
The pace of change and a dramatic shortage of skilled e-commerce
and financial IT specialists have combined to make outsourcing
an increasingly attractive option for financial services
organizations. PSINet and CWB both hope to exploit the trend.
Certainly, CWB could scarcely have a more powerful partner.
PSINet’s switching facilities provide direct access to the
Internet in more than 900 metropolitan areas in 28 countries on
five continents.