Computacenter Services proves it has the X Factor

FremantleMedia, one of the largest international creators and producers of entertainment programming brands in the world, has signed a five-year IT deal with Computacenter Services, which is aimed at reducing operational costs and improving the availability of its IT infrastructure.

Under the multi-million pound contract, Computacenter Services will manage FremantleMedia’s 1,600 desktops and laptops and 100-plus servers as well as providing IT support to its 1,200 staff in the UK.

Adam Seaman, Operations Manager for FremantleMedia commented: “We are glad to be working with Computacenter Services. We hope that the improvements will help to provide an even better service to our customers in the future. We deliver thousands of hours of programming every year, and our IT systems play a key role in the production process. By partnering with Computacenter Services, we expect to be able to increase the availability and scalability of our infrastructure, which will help ensure our staff have access to the IT systems they need to make and distribute new television programmes.”

FremantleMedia will be using Computacenter Services’ shared facilities to enable 24x7 monitoring of its core systems, which includes servers located in France, Germany, Australia and the United States. These systems are part of the production of popular UK television shows, such as The X Factor, The Apprentice, The Bill, Pop Idol and Grand Designs. As part of the contract, Computacenter Services will provide on-set support during filming.
 
FremantleMedia has also transferred its Service Desk operation to Computacenter’s Service Support  Centre, which will handle up to 1,900 user queries a month. Neil Muller, Director of Managed Services for Computacenter Services, commented:“IT departments are under increasing pressure to improve the availability of core business systems with the same or even less resources. A shared services model allows organisations to take advantage of proven repeatable processes and extensive specialist resources to deliver both cost benefits and continuous quality improvements.”

The transitioned service, which went live in March 2007, includes request management, on-site hardware and software maintenance, system installations, asset tracking, proactive remote server and infrastructure management and IT procurement. As part of the agreement, five members of staff from FremantleMedia transferred to Computacenter Services under TUPE regulations.

In addition to providing ongoing IT support, Computacenter Services will be helping FremantleMedia transform its existing infrastructure through the adoption of best practice standards, such as ITIL, and new technology. As part of a separate project, the company is already working with FremantleMedia to scope out a replacement environment for its legacy Notes infrastructure.

 

About Computacenter Services

Computacenter Services is part of the Computacenter Group, Europe’s leading independent provider of IT infrastructure services. It oversees a range of managed and support services contracts as well as implementing transformation projects for major corporate and government organisations, with service offerings extending from users’ desktops to organisations’ network infrastructure and datacentres. Computacenter Services recorded £267 million of revenue in 2005 and employs approximately 3,500 staff across the UK, including an international service desk in Barcelona.

For further information please go to http://www.computacenter.com/services