Scottrade Includes AT&T Best Practices for Application and Network Continuity

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has announced that Scottrade, a leading online investment firm, has teamed with AT&T to implement advanced network services that will ensure application and network continuity. The announcement comes on the heels of a new national survey that found many U.S. businesses remain unprepared for a disaster.

AT&T has deployed AT&T Ultravailable® Managed Network Service, a custom-managed solution to interconnect Scottrade’s two data centers in the St. Louis area with its headquarters in the St. Louis suburb of Des Peres, Mo. The AT&T solution uses an optical ring to carry multiple data protocols and to transfer large amounts of data — at high bandwidth speeds — between locations.

Earlier this week, AT&T released the results of the AT&T 2007 Business Continuity Study, which found that less than 70 percent of businesses consider business continuity a priority. The study determined that companies are focusing increased attention and resources on business continuity and disaster-recovery solutions in the wake of recent natural disasters and the continued concerns over terrorism.

“At Scottrade, we continually work to take advantage of new technologies that ensure a seamless customer experience,” said Ian Patterson, chief information officer of Scottrade. “AT&T’s solution is an important component of our comprehensive approach to ensuring a superior online trading experience for our customers with increased security, reliability and efficiency.”

The scalable AT&T network solution provides a private, high speed, fiber-optic network and dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) optical switching technology. DWDM is a technology that allows for the enhanced transmission of data over optical networks. It is able to deliver unprecedented bandwidth and scalability, in addition to the lowest possible latency.

The AT&T Ultravailable Network is a cost-effective solution for high speed data transfer and real-time data-monitoring to meet Scottrade’s increased growth and processing needs. The network provides continuity through the latest advances in optical networking equipment. Designed, engineered and implemented to meet Scottrade’s unique operational needs, the AT&T solution is able to transparently resolve single points of failure.