LONDON, UK: Spirent Communications plc, a leading provider of test and automation solutions, announced today that it has secured a $15 million contract with a global retail and investment bank to automate its lab and testing capabilities.

The deal, which includes $12 million upfront and $3 million for additional services, will enable the bank to accelerate the delivery of new products and services, ensure compliance, and reduce costs.

Spirent’s lab automation solutions will help the bank to test and validate its complex network environments, which are constantly updated and require high reliability and performance. The project will involve the design, installation and configuration of a new testing infrastructure that will start immediately.

Spirent also revealed that it has acquired the Test Lab Automation business of NetScout Systems, Inc., a small carve-out based in New Jersey, USA, for a modest sum. The acquisition will enhance Spirent’s lab automation software platform with physical layer switching capability, which is critical for automated labs.

Eric Updyke, Chief Executive Officer of Spirent, said: “We are delighted to confirm receipt of this important strategic order that provides a proof point of our drive to leverage our world-leading test and automation solutions into a new set of customers, with complex network environments they are struggling to test and validate manually. Further, we have responded to this market opportunity by acquiring important technology to accelerate our drive into the lab automation space with comprehensive solutions which we believe align well with our telco and enterprise customers’ current focus on efficiency and cost savings.”

The contract win and the acquisition are part of Spirent’s strategy to diversify outside of telecommunications, where uncertainty and delays continue. The company expects to benefit from the expanding opportunity for its lab automation solutions and services in the financial services sector and other industries.