100% functional availability with
end-to-end responsibility

Increasingly, companies operate in a global, high-tech 24/7 environment. Every link in the supply chain demands uninterrupted access to essential information. Companies can no longer afford transactions failing as a result of disruptions to their internet and/or transaction information systems. The availability of these application infrastructures is very critical for business success; and form the basis of the organisation's growth – they allow the organisation to do business and serve customers. This is why systems must be available and transactions possible at all times. No uptime, means no business… These applications are also known as: 'mission critical' applications. For these mission critical applications, availability and continuity become a competitive differentiator and a strategic resource.

Maintaining 100% functional availability of these applications, while keeping pace with business demands for innovation and regulatory compliance, is becoming more and more critical for business success. This leads to a need for seamless and continuous implementation of new functionality, additional capacity and improved technology. This is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) daily challenge.

Focus

Schuberg Philis guarantees 100% functional availability for mission critical applications. We take full responsibility for our customer's key concern: the functional availability of their mission critical applications. These applications form the basis of their organization's growth – they allow the organization to do business and serve customers. This is why these systems should be available and transactions should be possible at all times.

We focus exclusively on applications that businesses rely on 24 hours a day, guaranteeing 100% functional availability with end-to-end responsibility. Functional availability is not expressed in the number of disks spinning, but simply in application functionality: does the system deliver what it is supposed to deliver; 24 hours a day. We feel that this focus is instrumental in providing high-quality services.

100% is possible

In a world rife with opportunism and promising more than it can deliver, 100% is hard to believe. Because it is unconditional. Full commitment, without concessions or restrictions. 100% is binding. All the way. It has no shades of grey, not one millimetre of slack. 100% is absolute magnificence. And it is rare.

The founders Philip Dries, Gerwin Schuring and Pim Berger have been active in IT outsourcing for over thirty-six years. They share the same conviction: customers who outsource their IT can - and must - be provided with a better service level by their providers. No shirking of responsibilities, exotic cost structures or overheads. No politics. For them, this isn't possible at established IT outsourcing providers. There isn't any satisfaction, no matter how hard you work. It is rare that customers say “you did a fantastic job”. Because the people who can actually make a difference, the engineers, remain hidden from the customer. They are far removed by bureaucracy. Anybody who has been involved in IT outsourcing will be familiar with the phenomenon of first-line, second-line and third-line support. Whenever there's a problem, you first work your way through two layers of agents who have insufficient skills and insufficient expertise. Only once the problem has been escalated will the senior engineers be called in. But they often find themselves so far removed from the customer that they don't have enough background information. Enveloped by this system, it is virtually impossible to take actual responsibility.

Berger, Schuring and Dries were running into this problem over and over again. In some cases they were able to break through the system and provide customers with outstanding service by placing them directly with the best specialists. Thanks to their integral vision and joint expertise, they were able to solve the customer's problem in no time. They were always the same individuals – involved professionals with more than ten years of experience, broad expertise and a passion for their profession. They showed an interest beyond their sphere of excellence. They were accustomed to think from the customer's perspective: what am I really managing – a Unix system or a bank?
The three of them started evaluating how they could truly be of service to their customers. How they could give 100%. The answer was easy – the people who do the actual work, the experienced engineers, must be deployed in the frontline. Each customer must be assigned a dedicated team, a team that does the work from the very first day. A team that comprises all relevant disciplines and specialities. It seems simple. But this model is impossible to implement within established outsourcing providers. The existing structures are ingrained too deeply, too many different interests are involved.
Schuring, Berger and Dries seize the opportunity to found their own company. To prove it is possible, with a completely different model and a drastically different mindset – even in the world of IT-outsourcing.

A unique player in the IT outsourcing market, Schuberg Philis has been on the scene since 2000. It is an organisation that offers a distinct and exceptional promise: 100% availability for mission critical applications. Well-established providers work on the basis of comprehensive service level agreements that detail exactly what they do, but more specifically what they do not do. They promise a world of ‘ifs and buts' – a performance of almost 100%. Any change, any modification costs more. Schuberg Philis breaks with this tradition. They take full responsibility for their work and the risks. Schuberg Philis simply promises the full 100%. Not just in relation to the systems or the database, but also to the customer's key concern: the availability of their mission critical applications. These applications form the basis of their organisation's growth – they allow the organisation to do business and serve customers. This is why these systems should be available and transactions should be possible at all times. Period. Schuberg Philis promises 100%. At a fixed price that includes any changes or modifications. After all, in today's world change is the only constant.

Unconditional

If we do not live up to our promise, we suffer financial penalties. No strings attached. But everyone involved needs to be engaged in the process. We build long-term relationships with our customers, partners and employees so that together we can build structurally sound solutions. To deploy people, technology and processes in such a way that 100% becomes and remains achievable.
We take full responsibility for the integrity and availability of our customers' application infrastructure. End to end, from the networks and systems to the databases and applications. We are the keepers of continuity, the technical conscience. This means that unauthorised visitors can't touch the system. We start working together with the customer and the application vendor. We make sure that all the required changes and releases for the customer's application infrastructure are implemented after a proper validation cycle. We monitor the entire chain; ensuring it's first-rate, right to the very core.
It will not be necessary to change things ‘on the fly' anymore. Technology will no longer be the limiting factor. Rather, IT will enable the customer to modify strategic applications quickly, without making any concessions in the field of risk management. We offer customers flexibility and certainty. We meet all risk management and compliance requirements, and at the same time we can implement changes quickly and guarantee high availability. Fully auditable.

Expect complete commitment. We go all the way for our customers. However, this doesn't mean that they can stop looking after their own affairs – we also demand the utmost from them. In general, however, our customers are just as demanding as we are. After all, the stakes are high. Their mission critical applications are truly mission critical. They are not prepared to risk these applications becoming unavailable. They know the price of an hour of downtime or the loss of data.

All the way

People make Schuberg Philis what it is. And for this reason, Schuberg Philis is in the hands of the people. Its full share capital is owned by management and staff. They make certain that we live up to the 100% promise. They work overtime when needed – evenings and nights if need be. They will do anything to achieve the seemingly impossible.
Outsiders are surprised by the attitude. How is it possible for a commercial promise to have such an impact internally? But the conviction that customers should be provided with a better service and that it is a feasible objective, was already inherent in our people before they had even heard of Schuberg Philis. Like the three founders, they had been working for years in a world in which the majority of people settled for a B-minus. They wanted to make a difference for their customers, but were caught up in politics, trying desperately to break through bureaucracy and mediocrity. When new employees join Schuberg Philis, they feel like they've come home. ‘This is how I always wanted to do it, but I'd given up hope of it ever happening.'

Real Schuberg Philis people are the best in their profession. They want to stand together and side by side with customers rather than at opposite ends. For this reason, few people pass the selection process. ‘Right, first time' is what we are all about. We keep each other focused, continually challenge each other to get ahead, to excel. We go for the maximum imaginable and will not settle for less. And that applies to everything – to our work, our organisation, the coffee that we drink, the parties that we throw. There is only one approach: 100%. We want to do magnificent things, in the quickest and best way possible. Never beaten by the system. But above all, together with the customer we want to make a difference. Because we feel particularly energised when we beat our customers' expectations.

Full commitment

Over the past few years, we have proved 100% is possible. With a drastically different model, a drastically different mindset and in close collaboration with everyone involved. Our customers are inspired. We work for companies in various industries. Organisations that demand high availability and professional risk management, that need to control new developments quickly and flexibly in their own environment. We think along with them on all levels, offer them new angles and deliver a real contribution to their quality improvement process.
Our model and our approach work and will continue to work, even as we grow. We will always keep putting our people in the frontline, in small independent units and with short communication lines. In dedicated teams that place a central focus on the customer. Complete commitment. No concessions, no restrictions. All the way. 100%.