Verizon Business Makes Global Communication Smooth Sailing for Helly Hansen

Global Outdoor Clothing Leader Chooses Managed Private IP Network for Mission-Critical Applications and Video Conferencing Services

August 31, 2006 - BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon Business today announced its selection by Helly Hansen, the global manufacturer of high-performance clothing and survival products, to provide a Managed Private IP network connecting its major offices around the world. The MPLS network will provide secure and reliable connections between Helly Hansen’s mission-critical headquarters in Oslo, Norway, and seven other major sites in Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Helly Hansen employs more than 700 employees in 17 countries around the world, all of whom rely on applications and communications tools hosted at its headquarters in Norway to run daily business operations. The company selected Verizon Business not only to manage the data network connecting its global sites, but also to provide a secure gateway to ensure that vital business applications from headquarters are always available. Verizon Business has installed two routers and dual access lines, dramatically increasing Helly Hansen’s network capacity to support current and projected voice and data needs.

“We run a whole host of services and business tools out of our Norwegian office, which all of our other offices around the world depend on day and night,” said Einar Lonnum, chief information officer, Helly Hansen. “The managed IP network provided by Verizon Business gives us peace of mind in terms of both service level agreements and a help-desk service that actively monitors the wide area network lines 24/7, helping us to keep our business operational round-the-clock.”

Making the offering even more attractive was Verizon Business’ complete portfolio of communications tools, which enable efficient and real-time interaction, Lonnum added.

Using the Verizon Business IP network, all of Helly Hansen’s offices can access vital business applications such as Enterprise Resource Planning and videoconferencing. Helly Hansen also is trialing a Verizon Business Voice-over-IP service at its headquarters and intends to eventually deploy VoIP globally.

Explained Lonnum: “We already had a MPLS network in place but decided to re-tender. Verizon Business was able to offer us twice the bandwidth, the best technical support and a dedicated account team, all at an extremely competitive rate. It was no contest, really.”

John Irvine, vice president of international marketing for Verizon Business, said: “Helly Hansen demands a lot from its network and needs a secure and robust service to run its critical applications and programs across all of its sites around the world. Verizon Business was able to meet its rigorous demands today, and also provide the extra flexibility and scalability Helly Hansen needs to continue developing its global business in the future.”

About Helly Hansen
Between Human Will and Nature’s Forces - Norwegian Helly Hansen is a global leader in action-utility wear for survival, work and sport. Innovation has been a foundation of Helly Hansen since the company established in 1877, and its technical outdoor products are designed to be an enabling layer between human will and nature’s forces. Helly Hansen is distributed in more than 40 countries, and the privately owned company had a turnover of 1.35 billion NOK in 2005. For more information visit www.hellyhansen.com

About Verizon Business
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a leading provider of advanced communications and information technology (IT) solutions to large business and government customers worldwide. Combining unsurpassed global network reach with advanced technology and professional service capabilities, Verizon Business delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world. For more information, visit www.verizonbusiness.com.

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