Telkom chooses Oracle to drive "first world" service initiative

Oracle SA and Telkom have jointly concluded a service deal that will help the local telco to provide a "first world" level of support. The move is part of an initiative that will assist Telkom maintain a competitive marketplace position ahead of deregulation in 2002.

The multi-million rand deal represents the largest services and maintenance agreement yet signed by Oracle SA.

In terms of the agreement, Oracle will provide its highest level of service, OracleGOLD, to Telkom until 2002.

Telkom is currently the only OracleGOLD customer in Africa, and one of only a select few in the world. Telkom senior manager: Information Technology Group, Eugene Pinto, says the deal is part of Telkom`s drive to choose best-of-breed products and services in a bid to provide South Africa with an internationally recognised telecommunications system.

"The purpose of OracleGOLD is to ensure that this suppliers` products run at their optimum performance so we can sustain the best service possible to our customers in the group, who can then provide information that is reliable and dependable," he says.

Pinto believes the greatest value of OracleGOLD is the skills transfer it offers. "We have six dedicated Oracle professionals working on site, side-by-side with Telkom employees. Through the contract we also have access to the best minds in Oracle anywhere in the world on a 24x7 basis."

In addition, the complement of trained Oracle staff at Telkom meets the country`s dynamics. Pinto says Oracle is committed to developing the previously disadvantaged, an ethos which is important to Telkom. "In all our contracts we include the criteria of staff representation."

Pinto adds that this deal is a true partnership between the two companies as both groups are committed to the relationship. "From our side we have made a long-term decision to choose the top products available, including Oracle, and for its part Oracle provides the best possible service."

OracleGOLD offers business benefits to Telkom in that the increased service level means the telco`s information is accurate and available at all times.

On a technical level, because Telkom has the largest database environment on the continent, it is extremely close to the development staff within Oracle. "The OracleGOLD service is giving us quicker access to information and allowing us to deliver the five nines of availability," says Pinto.

"Five nines" or 99,999% uptime, translates into 20 minutes of downtime a year, a feat which Pinto believes Telkom is within reach of achieving with the help of its IT partners, including Oracle.

Oracle SA, Gold Service account manager, Richard Simpkins stresses the partnership element of the deal, together with personalised service. "We keep Telkom abreast of developments on their system so that they can react quickly to any occurrence that will impact on uptime.

"For instance, our onsite staff sift and tailor bug alerts so Telkom received highly relevant, filtered information."

Simpkins says the major challenge associated with the implementation of OracleGOLD was fitting into the Telkom culture: "We had to get involved quickly and increase levels of trust. We needed to be involved and to be seen to deliver visible differences."

Oracle met this challenge however, and within three months had reduced turnaround time by 50%. "Being onsite made a huge difference," adds Simpkins.