Johannesburg, 13 Mar 2002
Development finance institution, Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) has awarded Datacentrix a multi-million Rand tender for the supply and support of Compaq servers, as well as a StorageWorks SAN and backup solution. The contract will be financed over a three-year period.
According to Joel Mpshe, head: IT at IDC, the implementation is part of the organisation`s strategy to enhance its IT systems, in itself a response to IDC`s recent restructuring. "We are currently in the process of implementing an ERP solution, as well as upgrading from a Microsoft NT environment to Windows 2000. In light of this, it was critical to have a solid infrastructure in place." Mpshe maintains that the fast-paced changes in IT solutions and equipment prompted IDC to choose the rental route. "When IT equipment is purchased, it is almost impossible to sell once its lifespan is complete. On the other hand, a rental agreement is more cost-effective as it allows for easy upgrades when needed."
Prior to selecting an implementation partner, IDC set up a stringent approval process, including specific pricing, performance, functionality and short-term potential details. The service provider evaluation procedure also called for product references and track records, a strong empowerment record, proof of vendor stability and information on levels of expertise and support.
"Datacentrix met all of our requirements and, based on this, was awarded a contract to supply all of our server equipment for three years and attend to our onsite maintenance needs," Mpshe explains.
After kicking off in October last year, IDC and Datacentrix have implemented the servers and SAN environment and are currently winding up the process of development and testing. Says Albert Doyoyo, IDC operations manager: "We wanted to have all of the products delivered and installed as soon as possible and will be going live gradually with the new equipment from March this year."
"Datacentrix is very pleased to have been awarded this project and look forward to partnering with IDC and Compaq over the next three years. Our services to IDC range from an enterprise storage inventory to the recommendation and implementation of the solution. We also took into consideration the storage capacity growth expected from IDC over the next three years and have built it into the solution," says Johan Pienaar, divisional director at Datacentrix. "Datacentrix, as a Compaq Channel Partner, is well positioned to provide its customers with leading edge server and storage technology backed by the support of a world IT leader," says Gary De Menenzes, channel and CRM manager at Compaq. "Compaq`s vision is to take responsibility for the solutions implemented by the channel, offering customers a direct interface with the manufacturer while still maintaining a relationship with the reseller."
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