SBC Communications Inc. and HP said today they are partnering to provide enterprises with packaged services that integrate telecom and IT technologies. The corporations say the alliance lets enterprise customers consolidate ongoing management of common IT infrastructure needs: voice and data networks; equipment such as servers, PCs and printers; and desktop software.
SBC and HP say they designed the integrated solutions as ways to help companies increase productivity and minimize total cost of ownership. Both companies plan to begin jointly marketing the other’s services in the first quarter of 2005, and plan to develop additional joint offerings, including services designed for smaller businesses, later in the year.
Among the other services SBC and HP plan to offer are WANs; network and infrastructure security; business continuity; and branch office operations and integration.
The two companies intend to develop a managed services program that targets enterprises adding locations, extending IT and telecom services to branch offices, upgrading to newer IP technologies, supporting new software applications, and seeking lower or more predictable network and IT costs.
"As voice and data converge, enterprises face increasing complexity and opportunity,” says ML Krakauer, vice president and general manager of technology services for HP Americas. “HP and SBC companies, working together, can help enterprises embrace change – and open the door to very tangible business benefits. HP and SBC companies, with our combined expertise and a proven managed service approach, can help enterprises reduce cost and risk, accelerate solution implementation, realize better return on IT investments, and most importantly, enable them to focus on their core business objectives – serving customers and growing the business."
