ComSuper chooses Juniper for network refresh

The Australian Government's superannuation administrator ComSuper has announced plans to replace its ageing networking, storage and desktop infrastructure in a major IT refresh that has seen Juniper, NetApp and NEC win new business.

ComSuper has confirmed it is replacing its HP core and LAN (local area network) switches with a new line of Juniper EX4200 Ethernet switches [pictured].

The organisation, which manages the superannuation of some 700,000 public sector employees in Australia, is also migrating to Juniper's Unified Access Control (UAC) system for network security management.

Further, ComSuper said it is working with NEC to replace its PABX and call centre infrastructure.

David Hunter, executive manager of infrastructure at ComSuper told iTnews that much of the organisation's IT infrastructure was "at the end of its useful life.

"To retain the infrastructure further would present risk to the business," he said.

"Millions of dollars each week are administered by ComSuper, so it is paramount our network is stable, scalable and highly resilient."

Simultaneous with the network refresh, ComSuper has purchased a NetApp storage array, which will sit alongside two legacy arrays from NetApp competitor EMC.

Next on the list is a plan to refresh the organisation's desktop computing environment.

Hunter told iTnews that he expected to make a decision on this rollout by January 2010.