Johannesburg, 12 Oct 2007
Strate, the authorised Central Securities Depository (CSD) for the electronic settlement of all financial instruments in South Africa, has renewed an enterprise agreement for its Microsoft licensing requirements and rolled-out new hardware with Datacentrix, an IT solutions and service provider.
Strate`s updated software licence agreement with Datacentrix adds new Microsoft products to the company`s list of requirements, including Vista, SharePoint and Exchange, as well as additional Microsoft software for new employees.
According to Mike Higgo, Strate`s acting COO, at Strate these technologies allow it to enhance collaboration and increase productivity within the company.
"Our agreement with Datacentrix provides us with a more streamlined process, enabling Strate to budget more accurately for Microsoft licences. The advantage of this type of arrangement is the upfront cost saving, while at the same time ensuring we remain current in terms of technology, by receiving new versions and regular patches timeously for the period of the agreement."
Strate is also implementing new IBM Lenovo desktops and notebooks, supplied by Datacentrix, for improved support and better lead time for stock. "We found the IBM/ Lenovo pricing to be highly competitive," explains Higgo. "For the same reasons, we have also installed IBM Intel processor-based xSeries servers and have already seen huge performance benefits. Additional benefits of these units, also supplied by Datacentrix, include improved diagnostic abilities speeding up fault identification."
In addition, Datacentrix assisted Strate in a memory upgrade for its existing IBM pSeries servers.
Says Higgo: "In all of the above-mentioned projects, Datacentrix`s solid vendor partnerships were critical. The company has repeatedly proven its ability to deliver, as well as a high level of expertise. Having established a long-standing relationship together, we find Datacentrix very easy to work with, because of the single point of contact, and believe the company has a clear insight into Strate`s requirements. At the same time, we also understand how Datacentrix operates, providing both organisations with a good fit."
"By becoming a trusted advisor, Datacentrix can ensure that Strate is able to optimise its technology investment through improved performance, enhanced processes and greater cost effectiveness," adds Bradley Kewney, account manager at Datacentrix. Datacentrix is an IBM Business Partner Solution provider for the following products and services: eServer, Xseries, PC Product, Services and Storage. The company has also built significant expertise in the Microsoft arena, not only as an implementer of Microsoft enterprise infrastructure solutions, but also offering development and integration capabilities on the Microsoft-based platform.
The Datacentrix "Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Competencies and Accreditations" ensure a high quality and wide range of business solutions and related services to the enterprise market. These include: advanced infrastructure solutions, custom development solutions, data management solutions, information worker solutions, licensing solutions as LAR and ESA, Microsoft Business Solutions and OEM Hardware Solutions.
Specialisations include: Active directory and identity management, business intelligence, licence delivery, messaging and collaboration, Microsoft business solutions - Great Plains, software asset management, system building and Web development.
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