Schuberg Philis redefines outsourcing

Flying start for new company after management buy-out

Amsterdam, February 17 2003 – From today, there is a new player in the Dutch outsourcing market: Schuberg Philis. Schuberg Philis is the name of the company created after last month’s management buy-out of the Dutch subsidiary of MFN. Schuberg Philis focuses exclusively on the support and management of mission critical processes and applications that businesses rely on around the clock.

Schuberg Philis positions itself as ‘the other’ outsourcing partner. By limiting its activities to the selective outsourcing of mission critical environments, the company is able to guarantee the highest possible level of service and availability, together with unparalleled agility, security and reliability. Flexibility also plays a key role in the services offered by Schuberg Philis.

Pim Berger, Managing Director of Schuberg Philis, says, “Managing mission critical applications is not only about performance and continuity; it also demands flexibility. Companies are faced with an ongoing need to implement changes and, as an outsourcing partner, you need to be able to anticipate these. It’s practically impossible for large organizations to implement and maintain such a flexible infrastructure in the current economic climate, when companies are being forced to adapt to change faster than ever. This is particularly true if a company is trying to keep costs as low as possible. With our expertise in this area, we can offer companies the security they are looking for in a very cost effective way”

Schuberg Philis is managed by Pim Berger (Managing Director), Gerwin Schuring (Director Sales) and Philip Dries (Director of Operations), who are supported by a staff of 40. The company works from of a state-of-the-art data center in Schiphol-Rijk, which it acquired from MFN.

Berger comments, “Expectations are high. Analysts are predicting strong growth in the market for outsourcing. IDC, for example, expects that 20% of all Dutch companies will outsource one or more of their ICT processes this year. Mission critical applications (ERP, CRM), in particular, are being increasingly outsourced.”

Customers
Schuberg Philis has got off to a flying start in more ways than one. Not only can the company count on all the expertise, experience and enthusiasm of former MFN employees, it has also acquired one of Europe’s most modern data centers. The success of the management buy-out was also dependent on the loyalty of a number of large customers.
Ken Ferderer, VP Technology of Priority Telecom, says, "We were extremely satisfied with the service level and the quality of the Dutch MFN subsidiary. We were very pleased to hear that these would continue at the same level at least, and possibly even improve, under Schuberg Philis.”

SunTone certification
As the new company was launching, it was announced that Sun Microsystems had officially awarded its SunTone certification to Schuberg Philis. The SunTone certification is only given to companies, data centers and service providers that have the skills, people and processes necessary to manage a mission critical environment. Companies given the certification must comply with a large number of strict criteria covering hardware, infrastructure, safety, operational processes, expertise, Service Level Agreements and customer service.
Schuberg Philis is only the second organization in the Netherlands to receive SunTone certification since the program was introduced three years ago.
Wim Beltman, Managing Director of Sun Microsystems Nederland, says, “In many ways, what we’re seeing here is the start of an ‘old economy’ company. An organization that has first ensured its internal processes run optimally and an organization that has been profitable almost from the very beginning. The SunTone certification is not easily earned. It is an extremely positive sign that, right from the start, Schuberg Philis has refused to compromise on quality.”

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About Schuberg Philis
Schuberg Philis, an innovative, privately owned company, is a leading provider of mission critical outsourcing services. Schuberg Philis focuses exclusively on the applications that businesses rely on 24 hours a day, guaranteeing 100% uptime.

For more information:
Schuberg Philis
Pim Berger
Tel. 020-750 65 00
e-mail: pberger@schubergphilis.com

Whizpr
Martinique Walraven
Tel.: 0317 - 410 483
e-mail: schubergphilis@whizpr.nl