Cloud
UNIT4 selects NGD to host cloud solutions for its UK customers
Newport, South Wales, 4 March, 2013 – Next Generation Data (NGD) announced today that it has been selected by global cloud-focused business software group UNIT4, to host the data the company stores on behalf of UK-based clients. The contract is part of UNIT4’s strategy to support global hosting capabilities with local onshore services that provide customers with faster compliance to regional data legislation.
Globally, UNIT4 has built strong expertise in cloud computing. Currently its flagship Agresso Business World and Coda solutions are offered through the company’s own secure and proven infrastructure from several locations throughout the world. This announcement complements and extends UNIT4’s existing services to better meet UK legislative and operational requirements. It will also enable UNIT4’s customers to rapidly scale their software requirements as and when required.
“As UNIT4 drives to becoming the foremost cloud software vendor for businesses living in change, it is important that we build on the company’s reputation for secure, reliable and scalable hosting centres,” said Anwen Robinson, Managing Director of UNIT4 Business Software Ltd. “UK-based hosting in particular is crucial to the business as it is a major market for UNIT4. This deal will mean that in both the public and commercial sectors we can more easily meet local legislative and security standards. The selection of NGD as the home for our cloud solutions underlines the quality of its centre, personnel and supporting infrastructure.”
With IL-3, ISO 27001 and PCI credentials, NGD assures UNIT4 and its customers of the most stringent security levels as well as high calibre operational SSAE16 accredited procedures. The NGD Europe data centre facility is built to a US earthquake-proof design with comprehensive physical security including double and triple skinned walls; bomb proof glass; prison grade perimeter fencing; anti-ram bollards; infra-red detection; CCTV; and highly trained security guards.
Nick Razey, NGD’s Chief Executive Officer added, “UNIT4 has led from the front in the provision of business software in the cloud and we are delighted to be part of its continued leadership. NGD prides itself on offering highly secure, highly available infrastructure which is low cost and flexible – ideal for organisations with ambitious cloud strategies.”
The deal includes a ground breaking Escrow Agreement which has been designed by Legal Escrow & Arbitration Services Limited to protect the end users of the cloud service. The Escrow Agreement, which was prompted by the recent failure of 2e2, ensures critical user data is protected and available regardless of the status of the hosting or cloud provider.
“It is clear that fears about data security are the biggest barrier to adoption of cloud services, with this in mind we strive to provide the most secure commercial solutions for our customers, both technically and commercially,” said Robinson.
Ends
About UNIT4
UNIT4 is a global cloud-focused business software and services company aimed at helping dynamic public sector and commercial services organisations to embrace change simply, quickly and cost effectively in a market sector it calls ‘Businesses Living IN Change’ (BLINC)™. The Group incorporates a number of the world’s leading change embracing software brands including Agresso, our flagship ERP suite for mid-sized and large services intensive organisations; Coda, our best-of-class financial management software; and FinancialForce.com, the cloud applications company formed with investment from salesforce.com.
With operations in 26 countries, across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Africa, revenue of €469.8 million was realised in 2012.
In the UK we focus strongly on the public sector, where we are the leading provider of ERP systems to local government and post 16 education organisations, as well as having a considerable presence in the emergency services and health sectors. We also focus strongly on professional services organisations and a range of commercial sectors including Financial Services, Retail and Media and Publishing. Overall we aim to be the UK’s foremost business software company, providing solutions that transform the delivery of public services and comprehensively support commercial organisations in their ability to adapt and prosper in rapidly changing environments.
UNIT4 is headquartered in Sliedrecht, the Netherlands and has over 4,000 employees. It is listed on Euronext Amsterdam by NYSE Euronext and is included in the Amsterdam Midcap Index (AMX).
For more information on UNIT4 or any of its operating companies, please visit the website at http://www.unit4software.co.uk, follow us on Twitter @UNIT4_UK or visit our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/UNIT4BusinessSoftwareNV
About NGD Europe
NGD Europe is able to support High Density Environments for such power-hungry and intensive applications as Big Data, Cloud Computing, Super Computing and Grid Computing. It is ideally suited to large enterprise organisations wishing to consolidate their existing space- or power-restricted data centre operations, as well as service providers and systems integrators operating single or multiple racks.
Capable of housing up to 19,000 server racks, NGD Europe is a purpose-built tier 3 carrier-neutral facility offering 750,000 sq ft of highly secure and cost-effective space. Racks can be arranged into self-contained and colocation data halls of various sizes all with independent services, resilient power and cooling systems. NGD Europe’s environmentally-friendly high level technology infrastructure has been designed to meet and exceed the ever increasing demand for more computing power. Its many features include a 180 MVA 100 per cent renewable energy power supply connected directly to the super grid via an on-site sub-station. There are also multiple on-site high-speed, low latency carrier interconnects.
For further information, visit www.nextgenerationdata.com
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )CDC SOFTWARE PROVIDES “NEXT DAY” COMPLAINTS MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS AS REGULATORS GET TOUGH ON CUSTOMER SERVICE
Respond as a Service set-up and supporting customer service excellence in less than 24 hours
11 May 2012: Respond, the market leading customer complaints management platform from CDC Software, is now available as a service following demand from retailers, banks, travel companies and service provider businesses for a “next day” solution.
Operational in less than 24 hours, the Software as a Service deployment option of Respond provides the same functionality and business benefits as the time proven on-premise version. Over 800 customer-facing and often highly regulated businesses have relied on Respond for customer complaints management for over 20 years.
“Demand for Respond as a service is high from both existing and new customers. For existing clients it provides a quick an easy upgrade path to Respond Version 5, an essential tool for regulatory reporting, and quick-fire expansion of user numbers,” explained Mark Chambers, Head of Solution Consulting at CDC Software.
“For new customers, the ability to have a proven customer complaints management system set-up in less than 24 hours is compelling and business changing, especially as both consumers and regulators are demanding customer service excellence,” continued Mark Chambers.
Respond as a Service has been extensively tested and piloted over the last 12 months. Tests included independent security and penetration assessments and service delivery processes.
Feedback from Respond customers conclusively demonstrated administrative efficiency gains within days of the application going live. The most immediate being the ability to greatly reduce the time it takes to register, file and resolve a complaint. These processes are now instantly automated, centralised and linked to workflows that ensure the most effective route to resolution is achieved.
Longer term benefits include automated customer correspondence; scheduled daily or weekly management status reports; regulatory compliance reports; integration with other customer databases via open APIs and the ability to analyse the stored data to establish the root cause of complaints and service issues so these can be put right before creating widespread concerns.
“Under the pressure of business growth and regulatory changes, manual complaints management processes are no longer reliable or cost effective. Purchasing Respond as an on-demand application, rather than a capital investment means businesses can have a fully functioning complaints management system in hours, without impacting IT budgets and internal IT resources,” explained Mark Chambers of CDC Software.
Billing for Respond as a Service is flexible. This makes the on-demand application ideal for businesses faced with sudden or seasonal increases in customer complaints or enquiries. It also offers businesses the same tools as their larger competitors, without the time and cost commitment of purchasing and maintaining the supporting IT infrastructure.
Alternatively, businesses that are looking to manage temporary peaks in customer complaints, for example those managing huge volumes of PPI claims would be ideal candidates for Respond as a Service. Whilst many of these customers are facing pressure from the industry regulators to improve customer complaints management or face fines and potential product recalls, others have accepted that a cultural shift back to customer service excellence is needed if their businesses are to prosper and a review of processes is required.
“Respond as a Service offers businesses an alternative deployment option. It is set-up in less than 24 hours and requires minimal IT skills at the customer end. User training is included in the hosting agreement and there is a range of online tutorials and support guides to ensure maximum benefit is had from the application,” concluded Mark Chambers of CDC Software.
Respond as a Service is managed by CDC Software and hosted by an industry-leading hosting provider. Advanced monitoring systems guarantee service and each customer’s database is partitioned to ensure security.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Currently, Respond is offering a 15 month contract for the price of 12 months for customers looking to go live with Respond as a Service before 1 October 2012.
About Respond
Respond provides customer complaints management excellence and regulatory compliance assurance for all customer-facing businesses and organisations. For more information: visit http://www.welovecustomerfeedback.com or Twitter @cdcrespondmark.
About CDC Software CDC Software is a global provider of enterprise software for on-premise and cloud deployments. Leveraging a service-oriented architecture (SOA), CDC Software offers multiple delivery options for their solutions including on-premise, hosted, cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) or blended-hybrid deployment offerings. CDC Software’s solutions include enterprise resource planning (ERP), manufacturing operations management, enterprise manufacturing intelligence, supply chain management (demand management, order management and warehouse and transportation management), global trade management, e-Commerce, human capital management, customer relationship management (CRM), complaint management and aged care solutions. CDC Software delivers innovative and industry-specific solutions to approximately 10,000 customers worldwide within the manufacturing, distribution, transportation, retail, government, real estate, financial services, health care, and not-for-profit industries. For more information, please visit www.cdcsoftware.com.
Press contact Caroline Howlett / Nicky Feakes
Strategic Public Relations 01494 434434 cdc@strategicpr.net @strategicpr
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