Raymond James

Back to Case Studies

Raymond James Enhances Client Service with Sprint Virtual Ring-down Circuits

Raymond James Financial, founded in 1962, is one of the largest financial services firms in the United States with more than 2,100 locations worldwide. Clients include individual investors, corporations and municipalities. The firm's equity research analysts were recognized as among the "Best on the Street" in a 2003 survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal. Raymond James Financials net annual revenues for 2003 topped $1.4 billion with annual net earnings of more than $86 million. The firm is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Fla., with trading floors in New York and St. Petersburg. For more information, visit www.RaymondJames.com

Challenge

Like other firms engaged in securities trading, Raymond James Financial depends heavily on ring-down circuits or hotlines to transact trades quickly with major clients and exchange floor representatives. Hotlines are essentially dedicated connections between two designated phones. When a Raymond James representative on a trading floor picks up the handset, the phone at the other end rings instantly. There's no need to dial and no busy signals.

So when it appeared that the firm's primary long distance carrier planned to eliminate its hotline service, Raymond James Financial's manager of telecommunications, Betsy Larson, quickly began evaluating competitive offerings.

Solution

Raymond James Financial chose Sprint VPN Hotlines, based on several factors:

Advanced technology. Sprint offers "virtual" ring-down circuits as opposed to the hardwired point-to-point circuits that were the only option in days gone by. "The older technology is always more expensive, and if the path is out, you have no service," Larson points out."Virtual private lines are more resilient."
Track record. The firm had first-hand knowledge of the quality of Sprint service and support, based on ring-down circuits that other companies had installed at various Raymond James locations in the past. Sprint installations had typically gone smoothly, Larson says.
Cost savings. Sprint virtual ring-down circuits cost about a third less than the hardwired versions still on the market and considerably less than what Raymond James had been paying for a virtual solution from another Tier 1 carrier.

Bottom line

With more than 75 Sprint ring-down circuits in place, Raymond James is saving an impressive $1 million a year compared with what the firm was spending before for a similar service. The attractive cost-per-circuit means the firm can now justify installing circuits at more client locations and gain a competitive advantage.

In terms of performance, Raymond James has found the service "equally reliable." And when it comes to troubleshooting and technical support, the firm is particularly pleased with the speedy escalation procedures and frequent status reporting provided by Sprint.

Why Sprint?

With a rich heritage more than a century strong, Sprint remains one of the most financially stable companies in the telecom industry. When you choose Sprint, you're choosing a global company that has won industry and customer accolades for service reliability and customer satisfaction and one that is committed to developing solutions that can transform the way you work.

"When it comes to ring-down circuits, reliability is everything. That's the main reason we chose the highly resilient hotline solution offered by Sprint. Saving $1 million a year was an added plus." Betsy Larson, manager of Telecommunications, Raymond James Financial

View all of Sprint's Solutions for Finance & Insurance

Back to Case Studies