Will provide a global IP VPN, custom network management, including monitoring of routers and switches, as well as data transport to Air Products.

AT&T yesterday announced that it has won a multimillion-dollar contract from Air Products and Chemicals Inc. to provide a global Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network (IP VPN) integrating nearly 500 company locations in 30 countries.

Air Products serves customers in technology, energy, healthcare and industrial markets with a unique portfolio of products, services and solutions, providing atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials and chemical intermediates. AT&T also will provide custom network management, including monitoring of routers and switches, as well as data transport. AT&T will convert Air Products' sites in the America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East to multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) technology, enabling integration of legacy technologies onto a standardized platform.

Through the secure AT&T BusinessDirect portal, Air Products has online access to real-time reports on network performance, ordering, and trouble management systems, claims the company.

"We're very pleased with the level of service and redundancy that our new AT&T global network will provide," said Virgil Palmer, Director of Telecommunications and Network Services at Air Products. "The network will enhance our deployment of new applications that improve our business operations, while increasing our redundancy to upgrade our disaster recovery capabilities. We also expect to receive substantial savings across all of our network components."