Specialised Services, a division of National Data Systems (NDS) and NetWork Skills a 3rd generation black empowerment company, were awarded a multi-million Rand contract to provide an end-to-end solution to support their entire LAN environment. Specialised Services`, who specialises in the management and maintenance of the entire workspace, will be assisted by `Ntime. (NDS) is a member of the listed Fintech group of companies
NetWork Skills, specifically in the areas of maintenance, training and managed network services, will provide a significant portion both in terms of revenue and specialist skills. Both the Connecting Kids and Creating Employment Opportunities, the social investment projects selected as the prime beneficiaries of the empowerment objectives of the contract are already participating in the maintenance responsibilities of the service process. The maintenance tender was issued in March this year and incorporates the maintenance services, installed base and warranty management, LAN Administration, on-site Fault administration and installations of the networking infrastructure, the desktop environment, and all peripheral devices. "The appointment of Speciliased Services as its business partner for the provision of services to SARS provides a value creation partner who has a clear understanding not only of its IT service requirements, but also its business objectives " commented Marina Terhaar Account Manager for SARS.
LAN administrators situated countrywide serves as an extension of SARS TS (Technology Services) and are responsible for vendor management, customer interface, planning and quality assurance. Remote management and technical support, are provided by the Command Centre in Pretoria, proactively streamlining the service delivery process and maximizes uptime to the end-user.
The current contract allows for the participation of SMME`s and multiple vendors under the Specialised Services umbrella. The benefit to SARS is they have a single point of contact (SPOC), resulting in maximum uptime, decreased administrative effort and tax collections on the increase, and new targets being met constantly. There is no longer a duplication of effort and the additional cost incurred by the use of external service providers is a past issue. From a management view point, the whole function is a lot easier to manage and co-ordinate due to there no longer being the multi-vendor impact.
Specialised Services originally partnered with SARS in 1996 when they provided services on a time and material basis, in conjunction with other vendors. When SARS obtained their autonomy in October 1997 and embarked on a defined business strategy, the business was awarded to Specialised Services for close on two years to manage and maintain their desktop environment.
In all major SARS centres throughout South Africa, Specialised Services consistently satisfied a one hour mean time repair for SARS mission critical equipment and on desktops and other peripheral devices, five hours. Over a period of two years, Specialised Services has maintained an average of three hours and 25 minutes mean time to repair anywhere in the country, including SARS border posts.
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