VAR500 Roundup: Wipro Gets Kudos, ACS Inks Hallmark Deal and More

Summer's just weeks away, but there's no slow down of activity in the solution provider community. For the week ending June 4, Wipro won kudos from a research firm for its business dealings in its native India, while ACS and Hallmark inked a five year contract extension. Marin County has serious buyer's remorse with a Deloitte ERP system, while CIBER implements one for a venerable natural products firm. GlassHouse, too, is in the news, extending its reach into the Middle East.

Wipro Named Indian IT Leader

Wipro Infotech (2010 VAR500 rank: 26) has been named the leader in the Indian managed IT services market by Springboard Research.

Wipro has the highest market share in India, according to Springboard. The IT managed services market in India is expected to reach $3.8 billion in 2013, from $1.6B in 2009, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 22.8 percent. That figure is higher than the growth rate of the overall IT services market.

Wipro signed some big-name accounts in 2009, among them a multimillion dollar outsourcing contract from Unitech Wireless, as well as a 10-year total outsourcing deal from Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) to provide IT infrastructure and services for Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

’These significant and transformational deals, demonstrate Wipro’s growing maturity in the domestic market,’ said Wipro Infotech's vice president of managed IT services, Kiran Desai.

Hallmark Renews Deal With ACS

Affiliated Computer Services, a Xerox Co., (2010 VAR500 rank: 18) has signed a five-year extension of its IT agreement to provide infrastructure services to Hallmark Cards. Financial details were not disclosed.

As part of the contract extension, ACS will continue to provide IT infrastructure and associated support for Hallmark’s global operations including help desk support, data center management and desktop support. Hallmark has more than 7,200 desktop and laptop computers running Windows and Mac applications, including 900 printers.

’Hallmark is a prime example of an established business icon embracing new technology to meet the demands of its customers and employees,’ said Derrell James, executive vice president and group president, ACS IT Outsourcing Solutions. ’ACS’ application of innovative services will enable Hallmark to set the tone for its next century of business.’

Marin County Sues Deloitte Over ERP System

Got trouble with your ERP implementation? Marin County, Calif., does, and it's taking Deloitte Consulting (2010 VAR500 rank: 11) to court as a result.

The county is alleging fraud related to an SAP ERP software implementation that it claims is not working four years after it initially went live.

In its lawsuit, filed in Marin County Superior Court, the county is asking for actual and compensatory damages of at least $30 million, along with unspecified punitive and/or exemplary damages and interest. In response, Deloitte countered with a claim that the county owes it $444,171.50 for work completed, plus an additional late fee of $111,713.80.

CIBER Cleans Up Legacy ERP System

CIBER (2010 VAR500 rank: 64) has finished implementing an enterprise resource management solution for a natural apothecary manufacturer, J.R. Watkins. The 142-year-old Watkins sells personal care, cleaning and gourmet food items that contain only natural, environmentally friendly ingredients from renewable resources.

CIBER installed Lawson QuickStep for Food and Beverage, a pre-configured enterprise management offering based on the Lawson M3 Enterprise Management System to help eliminate data redundancies and manual processes, as well as provide Watkins with a more cohesive and lean technical environment. The ERP system was fully operational within eight months, according to a statement.

To execute on such a tight schedule, CIBER deployed its Brown Paper Process at Watkins, a structured group exercise designed to identify and document business processes from start to finish, across all functions and departments.

GlassHouse Expands Middle East Biz

GlassHouse Technologies (2010 VAR500 rank: 270) has established a new relationship with MEEZA, a Qatar-based Managed IT Services and Solutions provider. In addition to their existing data center in Qatar, MEEZA is in the process of building out 11,000 square feet of additional data center space to serve its customers in the Gulf Region. GlassHouse and MEEZA have agreed to work together in Qatar to offer data center and storage infrastructure services.

In recent weeks, GlassHouse has been building its Middle East presence. Last month, Yoel Yaskerovitch was appointed the new general manager for Israel and Turkey operations. The former Microsoft executive has more than 20 years of business management and sales experience. Yaskerovitch will oversee consulting strategy, sales management, and service delivery and execution, and will focus on expanding GlassHouse's data center service offerings in the region.

Check out the online home of CRN's 2010 VAR500 special report for more information on the companies that made this year's list.