Neckarsulm/Brussels, August 15th, 2013 – Following the recent mobile equipment contract, the European Commission acting on its own behalf and on behalf of several European Institutions has now awarded Bechtle a second contract, this time covering five different blade and rack server configurations as well as extensive services and consulting. The contract, valued at around 112 million euros, will run for two years with the possibility of extending it up to four years for purchases.
APS III, as the contract is known, is the largest and most comprehensive contract awarded by the European Commission for office and application servers. It includes more than 6,100 server systems—provided by manufacturer partner IBM Belgium—whose base configurations can be individually upgraded. In addition to the European Commission, beneficiaries include 51 European institutions as well as agencies in the 27 member states, including the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and the European Council in Brussels.
Management and Europe-wide Services.
Under the contract, Bechtle will manage all products and services requested via the online procurement platform, configure the servers at their headquarters in Neckarsulm, Germany, install the required software, and maintain and service the server systems Europe-wide. Furthermore, over 45,000 man-days could be made available for additional “professional services”, which will be provided in close cooperation with specialised service providers. “This second European Commission contract within just a few months emphatically underlines our abilities as a Europe-wide IT service provider. We are very pleased with this expression of confidence in our know-how and the reliability of our services,” comments Gerhard Marz, division manager of the Public Sector Division of Bechtle AG.
Customer Proximity.
Bechtle has been doing business in Brussels since the beginning of 2012 through a local subsidiary that now functions as the European Commission's single point of contact. Aside from the Brussels office, several other units within the Bechtle AG will play a major role in fulfilling the contract: the Basic Installation centre at company headquarters, the Bechtle Logistik & Service subsidiary and Bechtle's Field Services team. In addition, the IT services and trading company has at its disposal considerable experience in the public sector, Europe-wide logistics and locations in 14 European countries.