GM And AT&T Announce Global Networking Contract

March 2, 2007
Billion-dollar deal will integrate and standardize GM's global telecom and IT resources.

Last week AT&T announced the signing of a second five-year contract with GM to continue building out the U.S. automaker's global IT infrastructure for voice, data and video traffic. The deal, worth nearly one billion dollars, differs from the previous agreement not only in scale, but also in that it places AT&T as the manager of regional telecom providers (some of them competitors) around the world in providing local and long-distance phone service, global voice mail, phone and videoconferencing, high-speed Internet access and other telecom services.

As the global market grows, the need for a secure and dependable global networking infrastructure is increasing in importance, making such a large-scale move likely motivated by GM's desire for consistency of service and support.

According to GM CIO Ralph Szygenda, achieving this consistency is a necessary step to efficiency and increased production. "Information technology providers have to work as one in a corporation," Szygenda said.

"They can't work as a bunch of IT companies competing against each other inside your own company. I want our employees to be able to wake up anywhere in the world and not need to know where they are," Szygenda added.

The functional result of this deal will be to ensure that all GM employees located in 33 countries around the globe will have the ability to collaborate online in real time on engineering, manufacturing, design and supply chain issues with minimal technical difficulties.

Interested in information related to this topic? Subscribe to our weekly Value-chain eNewsletter.

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Gain a competitive edge with real-world lessons on private 5G networks

Nov. 16, 2023
The use of private networks in manufacturing applications is rapidly growing. In this paper, we present valuable insights and lessons learned from the field with the goal of enhancing...

Industry Insights: The Use of Private Cellular Networks in Manufacturing

Aug. 14, 2023
Private 5G cellular networks equip manufacturers with a powerful technology, improving their operations, increasing their security and accelerating their digital transformation...

Are You Positioned To Tackle Supply Chain Risk?

Sept. 20, 2023
Supply chain disruption is here to stay, but you can keep ahead of potential issues — and identify new opportunities — by regularly assessing your suppliers. Download our supplier...

Legacy Phone Lines Are Draining Your Profits

Oct. 30, 2023
Copper wire phone line expenses that support emergency devices could be costing your company millions of dollars in wasteful overhead expenses. Rates have been skyrocketing while...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!