In a R1.2 million deal described as "win-win" for both parties, First Technology is to provide remote and on-site maintenance and asset management to Prestasi, one of SA largest short-term insurance brokers, with a new fleet of 300 desktop PCs.
First Technology recently supplied and installed the Intel P4 PCs in Prestasi`s 23 branches countrywide.
These machines will now be maintained and monitored remotely from First Technology`s national call centre utilising Altiris, a fully comprehensive desktop management solution.
Martin Goodman, IT manager at Prestasi, says the new three-year contract builds on the solid relationship which developed between the companies over the years.
"While First Technology - and its predecessors - have long maintained our desktop equipment, this new contract will enable First Technology to leverage the latest remote maintenance technology to provide Prestasi with a much faster service.
"Indeed, what used to be the standard turnaround time on desktop repairs - 24 hours - now becomes a `worst case scenario`. In terms of the new service level agreement (SLA), most maintenance involving software will be handled within four hours and hardware by next business day - enabling us to deliver an improved service to our 110 000 customers," says Goodman.
According to First Technology account manager Glen Griffin, Altiris addresses the issues associated with desktop costs by enabling all PCs within an organisation, irrespective of geographical location, to be managed from one central point - in this case, the First Technology helpdesk in Johannesburg.
"This solution allows the First Technology technician who has been assigned to Prestasi to remotely check what software has been loaded on a PC, identify problems and repair them - without physically going to the site. In addition to time saved and improved service for Prestasi, First Technology will be able to utilise our technical skills more efficiently, resulting in valuable cost savings," Griffin explains.
Apart from repairs, Altiris will enable Prestasi to install new software programs or upgrades on all their PCs and workstations around the country within minutes. In the past, a First Technology technician would have had to physically go to each machine to load new software.
"But despite software installations being undertaken remotely, Altiris ensures the users` personal settings for each desktop machine remains unchanged.
"Similarly, in the case of a virus, a patch can be dropped onto the entire organisation`s system within minutes to resolve the problem. And in the case of a system crash, a registry backup of each PC kept on Altiris allows it to be quickly restored," Griffin concludes.
Share
First Technology is one of SA`s largest, independent IT solutions providers, offering customers solutions and services that maximise business productivity, reduce the risk associated with deploying new technologies and minimise the total cost of IT ownership. The company has fully-fledged branches in every major business node across SA and maintains one of the largest teams of highly skilled technical personnel in the country.