ROCHESTER, N.H., May 14, 2001 — Enterasys Networks™ today announced that the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) has selected an Enterasys Networks switched Gigabit Ethernet backbone to deliver reliable, high-performance network connectivity to core agency applications.
Utilizing Enterasys' switching and routing technology, the PSC has designed a highly-available network infrastructure to support a variety of business applications and productivity tools, including a customized consumer activity tracking database, resulting in improved efficiency of processing consumer inquiries.
"We have moved all of our end user applications to the high-speed Enterasys infrastructure," said Lee Kissell, systems project administrator for the Florida Public Service Commission. "Because we can provide quick and reliable access to regulated utility information, we can serve Florida taxpayers better and boost our core business activities."
Regulating the state's investor-owned utility companies, the PSC's primary responsibility is to ensure that Florida consumers receive safe and reliable service at fair and reasonable rates. Spreadsheet, word processing software, multiple customized database applications and high speed Internet access, is utilized for the bulk of the PSC's regulatory and consumer services work.
In addition, the agency's consumer activity management system, comprised of the customized consumer tracking database, manages the flow of documents and phone support contacts related to consumer inquiries and is a critical tool used to efficiently handle and track progress on individual customer cases. The PSC has been able to avoid moving into a client-server database architecture for their many customized database applications because of the robust performance of the Enterasys infrastructure. Client-server architecture reduces traffic on network infrastructure but is both costly and time-consuming to implement.
"We rely heavily on our network to provide access to our consumer activity tracking database," continued Kissell. "This application ensures that each consumer inquiry is dealt with in a timely manner resulting in more efficient customer service."
The PSC's network includes a combination of Enterasys X-Pedition™ 8600 routers and Matrix™ E6 switches, providing Gigabit Ethernet and Fast Ethernet to more than 400 people.
"With the high-speed performance and reliability of its switching and routing technology, Enterasys provides the capacity needed to ensure availability to an organization's core applications, such as the Florida PSC's consumer activity tracking database," said J. Dee Flamming, regional vice president for Enterasys Networks. "Providing an essential and, in many cases, time-sensitive service to the consumers of Florida's regulated utility companies, the PSC has the network infrastructure support needed to provide efficient service to its clients."
About The Florida Public Service Commission
The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) regulates investor-owned electric, natural gas and telecommunications utilities throughout the state, as well as water and wastewater utilities in those counties that have opted to transfer such jurisdiction to the PSC. In addition, the PSC has jurisdiction over municipally owned electric utilities and electric cooperatives with regard to rate structure, territorial boundaries, bulk power supply operations, planning and safety; and over municipally owned natural gas utilities with regard to territorial boundaries and safety.
About Enterasys Networks
Enterasys Networks combines a single market focus with a strong technology heritage to provide communications infrastructures for enterprise-class customers.
For more information, visit enterasys.com.
