EDF Energy lowers cost, improves services

Cost reduction and service improvement are two of the main drivers behind a IT managed services contract between EDF Energy, one of the largest energy companies in the UK, and Computacenter. The two companies have signed a three-year agreement, which will see Computacenter deliver a range of IT services across EDF Energy’s desktop and server estate.

Kevin Tallett, director of IT at EDF Energy, commented: “Managing our desktop infrastructure is not a core competency. This contract will enable us to concentrate on the strategic IT requirements of the business. Working with an external partner provides us with cost-effective access to both additional resources and best practice.”

EDF Energy has in excess of 10,000 desktops and laptops at more than 100 sites across the country. Computacenter will not only help to manage this estate, but also the customer’s printers and its 300-plus email, file and print servers.

The contract replaces three previous agreements. “By consolidating our agreements into one end-to-end contract and implementing service improvement programmes, we expect to see at least a five per cent reduction in costs year-on-year,” says Tallett. Computacenter will also assist with specific projects, the first of which is planned to be the roll-out of Microsoft Windows XP across the customer branch of the business. “Managed services contracts are becoming increasingly popular as they enable organisations to tap into additional skills and expertise as required while still retaining overall control of their IT strategy,” said Steve Ball, corporate client director at Computacenter.