VAR500 Roundup: GlassHouse Revamps the Data Center, Wipro Earnings Are Up, And More

Summertime and the Livin Ain't So Bad

It may not be exactly easy livin', but solution providers are reporting contract gains and improved revenue from year-ago figures. Among their winning ways: Telepresence is part of CDW-G's strategy, while Accenture looks to the insurance industry. Wipro's IT segment is going like gangbusters, and GlassHouse offers data center advice.

GlassHouse Whitepaper on Revamping the Data Center

GlassHouse (2010 VAR500 rank: 270) has released a whitepaper on Strategic Data Center Transformation, available at glasshouse.com.

The paper explains the ways in which organizations can ensure service-level tiers are aligned with business requirements and how they can assess their needs for shared-services models, including cloud-based options.

GlassHouse discusses creating a strategy that takes into consideration virtualization-centric environments and how to use virtualization to consolidate the data center footprint. In addition, the whitepaper highlights how to optimize efficiency and space, and best practices for data center migration projects.

CDW-G Implements Educational Telepresence Solution

CDW-Government (CDW VAR500 rank: 15) and the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE), a non-profit organization that helps liberal arts colleges integrate inquiry, pedagogy and technology, will work together to expand student offerings and promote collaboration among faculties via telepresence technology.

The arrangement will increase access to high definition video conferencing technology supported by CDW-G and LifeSize Communications, a division of Logitech, for NITLE’s 137 member institutions. The telepresence solution supports interactive learning.

’Partnering with CDW-G and LifeSize positions NITLE to create concrete opportunities for liberal arts colleges to explore the teaching potential of telepresence technology,’ said W. Joseph King (pictured), executive director, NITLE. ’With telepresence, our members can connect with academic expertise at other institutions and develop meaningful educational experiences to enhance the undergraduate student experience.’

Accenture To Support Canadian Insurer

Accenture (VAR500 rank: 5) signed a multi-year application services agreement with Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada to develop, implement and manage a variety of applications that support the insurer’s operations.

Accenture will help Sun Life Financial improve service for its customers and to enhance overall information technology and operational efficiencies.

In a statement, Piyush Bhatnagar, a senior executive in Accenture’s Financial Services group, said, ’Our objective is not only to deliver cost savings to Sun Life Financial but to help them remain focused on their core business of delivering top-quality insurance and wealth management services to their customers."

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Wipro: Revenue Up 16 Percent

Wipro (VAR500 rank: 26) reported growth in the first quarter of 2011 of 16 percent, compared with the same period in 2010. Total revenue in the quarter was U.S. $1.58 billion. IT services revenue in dollar terms was $1.204 billion, a sequential increase of 3.2 percent. The company's IT Services segment derived 76 percent of total revenue and 93 percent of operating income during the quarter. ’We are seeing a strong demand environment across our industry verticals despite macro challenges," said Azim Premji Chairman of Wipro, in a statement. "We added the highest number of billable employees ever, in this quarter. Our guidance reflects this momentum -- for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010, we expect revenues from our IT Services business to be in the range of $1,253 million to $1,277 million, a sequential increase of 4.1 percent to 6.1 percent.’