LONDON and JERSEY CITY, New Jersey, December 8 /PRNewswire/ -- BST, a leading international provider of market data and telecom expense management solutions and IPC Systems, the leading provider of indispensable trading communications solutions to the world's leading financial services firms, today announced a global partnership for the distribution of BST's FinOffice5 Cost Management Software.

This distribution agreement creates a strategic partnership to extend BST's reach into new market territories and allows IPC to provide a market proven, value added, cost management solution to complement its expanding portfolio of Electronic Connectivity Services (ECS) for the world's leading financial services firms.

The complexity of managing connectivity infrastructure and the associated cost structures has grown exponentially over the last ten years, while the resources of the consuming banks, brokers and market participants has become increasingly limited. IPC and BST together are providing an alternative solution to augment existing in-house and vendor driven solutions to provide customers with real tools to manage the complicated connectivity and market data costs.

IPC is proud to be a leading provider of electronic data and voice trading connectivity services and products to thousands of global financial institutions. Because we're one hundred percent focused on financial market communities, our global network has evolved to support Electronic Connectivity Services across all aspects of the trade lifecycle, including market data feeds and electronic trading, stated Dave Brown, senior vice president, Global Network Operations, IPC Systems. As part of our commitment to deliver incremental value for our customers, IPC combines low latency connectivity to support electronic trading, with the software tools to allow customers to manage the associated market data costs more effectively. Our partnership with BST will facilitate this turnkey approach and we look forward to working with them to provide our customers the best possible solutions.

Peter Finnerty, U.K. sales director, BST Europe continues, We are delighted to be working with IPC on a global basis. Their market reach across all of the major financial centres worldwide will allow us to build on our already impressive customer list. It also provides IPC with a well rounded offering to the marketplace - more compelling than any other competitive offering in this space.

About BST

For over 20 years BST has been providing the world's largest financial organizations with cost management software solutions. As the need for real-time market data feeds has grown, so has the expense of their provision. The FinOffice5 software suite was designed for organizations to manage these costs effectively - regardless of the number of vendors utilized. BST also provides Cost Management solutions for Telecoms managers to manage all of their vendor costs in one, easy to use application.

BST continues to be responsive to the individual needs of its customers long after providing the perfect solution for their market data and telecom business. Founded in 1989, BST has offices in New York (BST America), London (BST Europe), and Zurich (BST Banking Software Training AG).

For further information on BST's products, services, management and local contact details, please consult our web-sites at www.bsteurope.co.uk or www.bstamerica.com.

About IPC

IPC is a leading provider of indispensable financial trading communications solutions to the world's leading financial services firms and global enterprises. With 35 years of expertise and innovation, IPC provides its customers with global systems and solutions, as well as a suite of products and enhanced services that includes advanced Voice-over-IP technology and integrated network and 24x7x365 management services in more than 60 countries. Based in Jersey City, N.J., IPC has approximately 900 employees throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions. For more information, visit www.ipc.com.

Media Contacts Peter Finnerty BST Europe Ltd. +44-207-522-6055 pef@bsteurope.co.uk Cliff Fox Matt Pennacchio IPC Systems, Inc. Ruder Finn for IPC +1-201-253-2291 +1-212-715-1613 cliff.fox@ipc.com pennacchiom@ruderfinn.com

SOURCE: IPC Systems

CONTACT: Peter Finnerty, BST Europe Ltd., +44-207-522-6055,pef@bsteurope.co.uk; or Cliff Fox, IPC Systems, Inc., +1-201-253-2291,cliff.fox@ipc.com; or Matt Pennacchio, Ruder Finn for IPC, +1-212-715-1613,pennacchiom@ruderfinn.com