Symantec service models help clients adopt best practices, improve efficiencies, manage IT risk

Symantec has announced two new service models, Symantec Operational Services and Symantec Residency Services, offered through Symantec Global Services, now available across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Six new offerings are currently available under these models. These services are designed to provide enterprise customers with an extended range of IT infrastructure management service options to incorporate best practices, improve efficiencies, and ultimately improve overall IT risk management.

"Customer needs continue to evolve as the level of risk around managing IT infrastructure increases," said Doug Chandler, IDC programme director.

"Many enterprise organisations, while not interested in full-scale outsourcing, would like to build a long-term relationship with a strategic IT consulting partner that can help manage their critical IT processes around security and availability."

Symantec Operational Services enable customers to outsource key IT functions to seasoned Symantec experts under customised service level agreements to meet their specific needs.

These services can be provided at the customer's site, delivered remotely, or provided via an integrated combination of both. Symantec Residency Services, in contrast, provides knowledgeable experts to augment an organisation's IT staff on a consulting fee basis. Residencies are offered at three levels - executive, expert, and technical -providing customers with flexibility on the type and level of expertise they require.

By leveraging Symantec's deep expertise with both Symantec and third-party technologies under either service model, customers are able to reduce the complexity and costs associated with managing heterogeneous environments, improve performance, and significantly reduce associated IT risks.

"Customers are having to secure large complex environments and manage data storage, while at the same time address compliance and risk challenges," said Helen Constantinides, consulting manager for Symantec Africa.

"With our new services, Symantec professionals will manage the environment and provide customers with the information they need to address the risk and compliance challenge, leaving internal resources to attend to strategic initiatives that more closely align with their corporate business goals."

Symantec's recently launched global service offerings are Symantec Data Protection Operational Services, Symantec Data Protection Residency Services, Symantec Antivirus Operational Services and Symantec Antivirus Residency Services:

* Through Symantec Data Protection Operational Services, Symantec consultants manage a client's essential backup and recovery processes, provide 24x7 remote monitoring and alerting services, and manage end-to-end protection or recovery of mission-critical data for enterprise customers.
* Symantec Data Protection Residency Services include management of backup and recovery infrastructure, assessments of data protection readiness, analysis and prevention of high-impact incidents, and execution of emergency response.
* Through Symantec Antivirus Operational Services, Symantec consultants manage the critical day-to-day anti-virus operations of clients under customised service level agreements for Symantec and third-party products.
* Symantec Antivirus Residency Services leverage Symantec's unmatched security expertise and include data capture, incident-handling analysis, benchmarking and trending, customised reporting, and overall project management.

Additional service offerings available for the EMEA market include:

* Enterprise Security Operational Services - blends technology, people and process into a Security Operations Function or a Security Operations Centre.
* E-mail Security Operational Services - manage malware and spam threats organisations face from one of their most important business tools, e-mail.

Availability: All new Symantec operational and residency services are available throughout EMEA now. Additional operational and residency services are planned for global release during 2007.