Fujitsu Siemens Computers, the leading European IT manufacturer, has begun incorporating the IT Professional Services (ITPS) business of Siemens Business Services, having obtained the requisite approval from the relevant regulatory bodies.
This follows the ratification of the acquisition of SBS's Product Related Services by Fujitsu Siemens Computers BV on 1 April 2006.
Fujitsu Siemens Computers South Africa, together with Siemens IT Services, applied for authorisation to implement this partnership/acquisition locally, and satisfied the requirements of various statutory and regulatory bodies.
The addition of ITPS capabilities is designed to increase profitability by strengthening the company's product-related service portfolio and solution implementation.
"With effect from 1 November, Fujitsu Siemens Computers adds IT Product Services to our overall business proposition," says Mark Wilson, Managing Director of Fujitsu Siemens Computers.
"Essentially, we are bringing two business entities together into a single entity, ensuring that we combine our offering of class-leading products - with professional services - through a streamlined and efficient organisation. This consolidation will broaden our reach while enabling us to reap the benefits of economies of scale. We are now able to offer a full range of services and products to customers on a nationwide basis."
Customers will benefit from Fujitsu Siemens Computers' increased ability to consult, design, implement and service from one source for industry growth segments: Dynamic Data Center and Mobility. The company's ability to offer a comprehensive end-to-end solution will make the Fujitsu Siemens Computers offering more compelling as customers seek to reduce complexity. "We will be able to offer a complete managed solution," says Andrew Winter, Managing Director of ITPS.
"This includes integration services, maintenance and support, and managed services. Our platform business will focus on Fujitsu Siemens Computers' value product portfolio. We see substantial opportunities to lead with solutions like BladeFrame, PRIMEQUEST and to back these up where required with products from the Fujitsu Siemens Computers Volume Products portfolio. We will strive to identify opportunities to add value to the customer through adding services to products so that the customer experiences seamless access to IT services."
The service division of ITPS will align and partner with local support organisations. This will require some training and knowledge transfer and will create opportunities for historically disadvantaged individuals.
"ITPS intends to focus on three key service areas which will impact on the way in which it engages with business partners and customers," says Winter. "These are:
* Integration services
* Maintenance and support
* IT managed services
"Integration services will address the needs of companies that have widely spread infrastructures over sophisticated local- and wide-area networks. Our Professional Services division has many years experience, a vast knowledge pool and a clear understanding of the complexities of such environments and is able to assist in providing reliable infrastructure integrations. We will focus on the integration of new elements into existing infrastructure, eg high-end servers, storage solutions, internal and external networking and infrastructure software."
"Maintenance and support will offer standardised services as an ideal complement to manufacturer's warranties in order to minimise the risk of hardware breakdowns. Through different service contracts, we can upgrade the level of service during the manufacturer's warranty and extend the contracted period to at least three full years of service."
"IT managed services is a set of services through which we proactively manage the distributed IT infrastructure using the skills at a 24X7 service centre and combining these with on-site resources. This helps customers to focus on their business and not worry about IT."
"From a services perspective ITPS will be positioned higher within the value chain than just maintenance and repair services, offering a higher end service environment. We seek to reduce the risk, increase availability, and reduce costs, all the while ensuring that customers derive higher value from their IT systems.
"ITPS comes to us with a substantial pool of skills and resources which add value to our business in every possible way," says Mark Wilson. "They bring a large number of skilled, certified engineers who will be able to add value to our customers with their practical experience and expertise. In addition to this, we have access to ITPS resources in other countries through the Fujitsu Siemens Computers network and thus I believe that we can offer rapid and professional response to specific customer problems."
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