Case Study: HomEquity Bank centralizes application access with 1Gig (EPL) Ethernet Private Line from Allstream

"Improved uptime for business-critical applications, mail servers, and websites."

Certified as a Schedule I bank only two years prior, HomEquity Bank had a unique business continuity problem. Recurring construction near its Toronto head office caused regular power and water outages affecting the availability of its server room. As a result it moved its critical applications to a third-party data centre in Mississauga, but this created a new concern that existing bandwidth between the head office and the data centre wouldn’t adequately support remote access for its bandwidth-intensive applications. The solution required an enhancement to the infrastructure connecting the two sites — one that would allow stable remote application access and regular data backup, as well as failover between the data centre and the Toronto office for business continuity.

Company

A subsidiary of HOMEQ Corporation, HomEquity Bank originates and administers Canada’s largest portfolio of reverse mortgages and is the only national provider of reverse mortgages to homeowners aged 55 and over.

Solution

An Allstream Velocity Wavelength Network, including a 1 Gbps site-to-site connection was implemented. The new infrastructure provides business users fast, stable access to all remote applications while robust back-up or failover occurs simultaneously and undetected.

Outcomes

• Improved uptime for business critical mail servers and websites
• Enhanced business continuity by enabling a reliable failover option
• Decreased complexity and improved speed with a private, site-to-site data link
• Achieved local performance quality from remotely located applications
• Enabled home and mobile system access for employees