Sungard Availability Services Announces a Strategic Ten Year Partnership with John Menzies PLC

27/01/2016 04:00

New deal will help airline and logistics giant strengthen its IT estate to become even more customer-centric

LONDON, Jan. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sungard Availability Services ® (Sungard AS), a leading provider of information availability through managed IT, cloud and recovery services, has today announced the signing of a ten year strategic partnership with global airline services and major logistics supplier John Menzies PLC for the provision of IT services. The partnership will enable John Menzies to transform its current IT infrastructure by leveraging Sungard AS' best-in-class global data centre, cloud infrastructure and network management capabilities, and its extensive experience in delivering global managed IT solutions.

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Building on its current IT infrastructure, John Menzies will use the IT environment as a foundation for further investment in innovative IT and business systems to create strategic differentiation and enhanced operational performance and customer experience. This is vital in today's digital age, where customers expect instantaneous services, from flexible and convenient deliveries for online shopping, through to instant updates on travel information.

With daily deliveries to 45 per cent of the UK's retailers, customers at 144 airports worldwide, and a business that serves over 300 airlines, John Menzies deals with millions of transactions on a daily basis. Operating out of 31 countries and over 150 locations, it needed a partner that could not only ensure the robustness of its IT estate, but also provide a solid platform to scale up as required.

As part of the multi-million pound contract, Sungard AS will take on responsibility for John Menzies' IT network and effect a full transformation of its services to cloud-based solutions. This will deliver the robust, agile and future-proofed IT services John Menzies requires to continue growing both its aviation and distribution services.

The first phase of the project has commenced with the successful migration of Menzies' SAP environment recovery services into Sungard AS' main UK data centre. Subsequent phases will include data centre consolidation, enterprise managed services and network managed services – all underpinned by a cloud enablement strategy.

Steve Rick, Senior Vice President of John Menzies, commented: "This strategic partnership represents a significant step forward for Menzies, and provides a new platform for further development and innovation. The excellent scalability of Sungard AS' IT solutions provides us with a cost effective way to scale up to meet our business demands, and the consultancy we receive provides a high return on investment. We are confident that this joint programme will support our continued focus on improving our customers' experience, and we are delighted to work with a global partner with an excellent track record for IT excellence and strategy."

Keith Tilley, EVP Global Sales and Customer Services Management for Sungard AS added: "Sungard Availability Services has built its success on delivering strong strategic partnerships with forward-thinking organisations like Menzies. With many companies now updating their IT estates by venturing into the cloud on top of their legacy systems, we have seen some fall prey to complexity, which in turn is stifling innovation. However our recent research into this issue found that more than half¹of businesses saw great successes from working with a partner; including an increase in business agility², improvements in customer service³, and the speed of product developments⁴. We're delighted to have the opportunity to work so closely with Menzies to build a model and methodology that will not just deliver, but truly power the mission critical IT systems that support their global customers' needs."

ENDS

Notes for Editors:

About Sungard Availability Services' research
Interviews were carried out in September and October 2015 by Vanson Bourne on behalf of Sungard Availability Services®. 500 interviews were conducted altogether: 150 from the UK, 150 from France and 100 each from Sweden and Ireland. The research spoke to IT decision makers in businesses of over 500 employees across a variety of sectors – including financial services, business process management and retail.

Brand Statement
The abbreviation for Sungard Availability Services is 'Sungard AS' as cited above. Please use 'Sungard AS' when abbreviating the name rather than 'Sungard' or 'SunGard,' which may confuse the reader with another separate company with a similar name.

About John Menzies plc
John Menzies plc is one of Scotland's largest companies. The company has two operating divisions, Menzies Aviation and Menzies Distribution. Both divisions operate in distinct B2B sectors where success depends on providing an efficient, high quality, time-critical service to their customers and partners. The company was established in 1833 and its head office is in Edinburgh, Scotland. Today the company is an international business with operations worldwide.Further information on John Menzies plc can be found at: www.johnmenziesplc.com, www.menziesdistribution.com and www.menziesaviation.com.

About Sungard Availability Services:
Sungard Availability Services ("Sungard AS") is a leading provider of critical production and recovery services to global enterprise companies. Sungard AS partners with customers across the globe to understand their business needs and provide production and recovery services tailored to help them achieve their desired business outcomes. Leveraging 35 years of experience, Sungard AS designs, builds and runs critical IT services that help customers manage complex IT, adapt quickly and build resiliency and availability. Visit Sungard Availability Services at www.sungardas.co.uk or call 0800 143 413. Connect with us on LinkedIn , Twitter and our Blog.

Representing techUK (formerly Intellect), the trade association, Sungard AS is helping define ISO 27036 – the IT standard relating to information security in supplier relationships (including cloud services) as a member of SC27. Previously in a similar arrangement, Sungard AS helped develop both business continuity management standard BS 25999, now ISO 22301 and IT continuity management standard ISO 27031. Within the UK, Sungard AS became the first business continuity provider to secure certification against the BS 25999 Standard, which it retained in 2010. SunGard is also certified to ISO 27001 and ISO 9001, and compliant with IGSoC, PCI DSS and ISAE3402.

Sungard Availability Services is a trademark or registered trademark of SunGard Data Systems or its affiliate, used under license. The Sungard Availability Services logo by itself is a trademark or registered trademark of Sungard Availability Services Capital, Inc. or its affiliate. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.