AEGON UK signs Managed Services Contract deal with Computacenter

AEGON UK, the Dutch owned insurance company, has signed a further five-year managed services contract with Computacenter, which will help reduce desktop operating expenses and improve efficiency.

In addition, AEGON UK has announced a separate agreement with Computacenter for the refresh of its 4,500-plus desktop and laptop estate.

Under the new managed services contract, Computacenter will continue to provide a range of IT services across AEGON’s desktop, laptop, server and printer estate.

David Bradley, AEGON UK’s IT Director, commented: “This new contract will enable us to continue our work on improving IT service efficiency and cost control. The managed services contract provides us with a predictable infrastructure management spend, and will lead to significant savings over the next five years.”

As a result of service improvements made under the last contract and the pending desktop refresh, AEGON’s cost per seat will have reduced by 11 per cent. The insurance company’s cost per seat is well below the industry average, as demonstrated by a benchmarking study carried out by Morgan Chambers1 as part of the contract renewal.

The move to Microsoft Windows XP and new IBM workstation hardware, which is due to be completed by early 2007, will play an important role in the ongoing savings, with the roll-out being managed by Computacenter.

“By upgrading our current operating system and hardware, we will be able to reduce the number of service desk incidents and future-proof the support of our applications,” commented David Bradley.

Computacenter will oversee the hardware configuration, technology sourcing, architecture design and installation for the refresh project, which will involve more than 2,800 new desktops and laptops being deployed at AEGON’s main locations in Edinburgh and Lytham, as well as their regional offices throughout the UK.

Alan Hill, a Computacenter Client Director, commented: “We have worked closely with AEGON over the last five years to help minimise costs while also maximising the potential of its IT infrastructure. It has been a true partnership. The managed services model enables organisations, such as AEGON, to free up their existing IT resources for more strategic projects and make the most of industry best practice.”

The new contract, which goes live in October 2005, follows a previous five-year agreement with Computacenter, which was due to expire at the end of this year.