Another Announcement. Any comments?
Monday February 1, 7:33 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Geac Launches New Application Outsourcing Service to Address Industry-Wide IT Resource Shortage
-- Geac Now Delivers Full Spectrum of Customer Services, Including Maintenance, Education, Consulting, and Application Outsourcing --
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 1, 1999-- Geac SmartEnterprise Solutions, a leading provider of cross-platform financial, human resources and procurement solutions, today announced the launch of its AppCare application outsourcing services. A new component of Geac's extensive customer service offerings, AppCare provides customers with flexible application management options designed to help organizations more efficiently manage and deploy their IT resources to focus on more strategic company initiatives.
''Like many organizations today, we are challenged to find and maintain qualified IT professionals,'' said Bob Schwyn, administrative director of Information Systems for Children's Hospital of Columbus. ''By outsourcing the management of our EnterpriseServer applications to Geac, our internal IT resources can focus on more strategic projects. At the same time, Geac is providing the expertise that takes the efficiencies and capabilities of the applications to a new level.''
''Geac's strategy is much more of a value-added and feasible approach to outsourcing,'' said Lisa Williams, analyst with the Enterprise Applications Planning Services team at Yankee Group. ''For the first time, I see realism being injected into the outsourcing market. They have identified a need in the market and are actually doing something about it, by using an effective, tangible business model with customers and employees already in place.''
Geac SmartEnterprise Solutions' comprehensive services offerings provide customers incremental levels of support, from standard maintenance and education and consulting, to full application outsourcing services. The SmartEnterprise Services suite is composed of the following:
--PrimeCare: Traditional maintenance and support services that are a standard part of new contracts and are renewed on an annual basis by the majority of our customer base. With PrimeCare, customers receive software upgrades/fixes at no charge. The customer is responsible for administering the implementation of these enhancements.
--ValuCare: Services that bring additional value to the applications, such as consulting and/or education. ValuCare services are currently performed by Geac's Professional Services Organization (PSO), and are more project or event driven (such as Y2K readiness or rapid implementation).
--AppCare: Comprehensive software outsourcing solution for managing Geac mainframe applications. With AppCare, professional Geac associates perform the more tactical and routine maintenance tasks on the customer's system, either on-site or at a Geac facility.
According to Mike Rice, vice president of AppCare services for Geac SmartEnterprise Solutions, ''The SmartEnterprise Services suite is the first of many deliverables in 1999 that are designed to help customers better meet their unique business challenges and use technology to gain a competitive advantage. While we have traditionally been known for outstanding customer service, the addition of the AppCare outsourcing component further demonstrates Geac's commitment to give customers the tools they need to maximize the value of their Geac applications and realize a better return on their technology investment.''
About Geac SmartEnterprise Solutions
Geac SmartEnterprise Solutions, a division of Geac Computer Corporation Ltd., provides advanced financial, procurement, human resources and reporting analysis systems to mid to large size enterprises looking to streamline business processes and enhance information access within their enterprise. The division was recently formed as a result of Geac bringing the SmartStream client/server division and the EnterpriseServer mainframe division together to offer customers a cohesive enterprise-wide solution.
Founded in 1971, Geac is a provider of mission critical enterprise applications, supplying industry specific software to ten vertical markets as well as cross industry administrative applications comprised of financial, human resources and materials management software. Headquartered in Markham, Canada, Geac has more than 90 offices in 16 countries and serves customers in more than 40 countries worldwide. Geac product and service information is available on the World Wide Web at geac.com, or through email at info@geac.com. Geac is a publicly traded company with its common shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (Symbol: GAC).
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