VAR500 Roundup: Capgemini Signs ERP Deal With USGSA, CDW Surveys Network Downtime

VAR500 Roundup: Solution Providers Make Headlines

Despite an economy that isn't gaining much traction -- unemployment is steady at 9.6 percent and job creation is stagnant -- VAR500 firms are moving ahead, making deals and expanding business. Accenture, CDW, Cerner, Capgemini and Computer Sciences all made recent headlines.

CDW: Companies Are Ill Prepared For Network Disruptions

A survey by CDW, (2010 VAR500 rank: 15), of 200 IT decision makers at medium and large U.S. businesses, found that while 82 percent of respondents were confident that their IT resources could sustain disruptions and support operations effectively, 97 percent admitted network disruptions had detrimental effects on their businesses in the last year.

"The survey confirms that while many businesses believe they are prepared for an unplanned network disruption, many are not -- and yet the three most common causes of IT outages are addressable," said Norm Lillis, CDW vice president, system solutions. Power loss ranked as the top cause of business disruptions over the past year, with one third of businesses reporting it prompted their most recent disruption. Hardware failures caused 29 percent of network outages, followed by a loss of telecom services to facilities at 21 percent.

CSC Acquires Cyberthreat Intel Abilities

Virginia-based Computer Sciences Copp., (2010 VAR500 rank: 6), announced the acquisition of the privately owned cyberthreat intelligence firm, Vulnerability Research Labs. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Vulnerability Research Labs tracks critical vulnerabilities present in software and hardware products and various malware codes. The company’s product range helps organizations to assess the level of vulnerabilities, detect threats and mitigate intellectual property theft. The acquisition enables CSC to enhance its cybersecurity support to public and commercial enterprises by strengthening its ability to develop unique tools and techniques.

’CSC’s clients now have access to unmatched capabilities in order to assess the threats they face and to manage them confidently," said Samuel S. Visner, CSC vice president and cyber lead executive.

{C}

Hospital Deploys Cerner Solution in Less Than Two Weeks

North Kansas City Hospital has deployed Cerner Corp.'s, (2010 VAR500 rank: 73), X56 HIPAA-compliant auditing solution in 11 days.

The P2Sentinel console provides a secure, analytical and reporting interface. Users can generate specific reports and analytics developed by Cerner to track how patient information is accessed. Auditing reports are part of an accountability system that provides measurable data for policy compliance, while also identifying potential security threats. P2Sentinel's subscription model eliminates capital and maintenance costs by reducing the number of hours needed to train associates and implement separate hardware and software solutions.

Capgemini Signs ERP Deal With USGSA

Capgemini Government Solutions, part of the Capgemini Group, (2010 VAR500 rank: 10), has been awarded a seven-year, $100 million blanket purchase agreement by the U.S. General Services Administration Federal Systems Integration and Management Center, in support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide independent verification and validation support services for enterprise resource planning implementations agency-wide.

The USDA is seeking to modernize aging departmental and agency program application systems through a comprehensive Application Transformation and Modernization program.

Accenture Provides Outsorcing for Drug Maker

Accenture, (2010 VAR500 rank: 5), will provide pharmaceutical maker Takeda with application and infrastructure outsourcing services. Application outsourcing services include development, testing and maintenance of all applications supporting Takeda’s operations. Infrastructure outsourcing services include service desk management, data center management, server and storage management, end-user computing and network management.

’Bundling application and infrastructure services will help Takeda to achieve even greater IT standardization and synergies and to reduce operating costs,’ said Nathan Hansen, executive partner in Accenture’s Life Sciences practice.