MCIS ZURICH and CSA Sign 5-Year Services Contract

(L to R) Chuah Tai Eu, Managing Director of Computer Systems Advisers (Malaysia) Bhd and Md Adnan Md Zain, CEO of MCIS Zurich Insurance Berhad during the Q&A session at the signing ceremony between MCIS Zurich and CSA.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16, 2008 – MCIS ZURICH Insurance Bhd today (MZ) and Computer Systems Advisers (M) Bhd (CSA) officially entered into a five-year managed services and IT hardware contract, which will see CSA provide IT services and Hewlett-Packard (HP) desktop and mobility hardware to MZ.

This five-year agreement is part of MZ’s strategy for further improving its business productivity and efficiency, as it can focus on its core competency of being one of the leading insurance services providers here.

Specifically, MZ will be able to benefit from a reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) when it comes to its IT infrastructure, as CSA will be leveraging its expertise in providing managed services and the latest HP hardware for MZ. In addition, CSA will be the single point of contact for MZ’s internal technical support inquiries for HP desktops and notebooks provided.

Encik Md Adnan Md Zain, Chief Executive Officer, MZ described the contract signing as “a monumental step and one of the building blocks to MCIS ZURICH’s organizational transformation efforts.” Elaborating further on the matter, Md Adnan said that the agreement with CSA will not only allow MZ to continue focusing on providing superlative products and services to its customers – but also, this deal enables MZ to remain at the cusp of developments in office technology, in order to support MZ’s efforts to enhance operational productivity and efficiency. “As MCIS ZURICH pushes on its business plans for a larger footprint in the Malaysian insurance market, we are gratified to be in smart partnership with the best in the IT services field.”

“As one of the leading IT services providers in Malaysia, CSA is excited to be able to work in close partnership with MCIS Zurich and HP to provide managed services and the latest HP technology to enable MCIS Zurich to serve its customers better” said Chuah Tai Eu, Managing Director, CSA. “This five-year deal underscores our commitment to one of the country’s leading insurance providers and leverages on our expertise in enabling MCIS Zurich to reduce the complexity and costs associated with managing their desktop and mobile environments throughout the entire product lifecycles,” he added.

The agreement between MZ and CSA will see the leading IT services provider implement and deploy close to 650 HP desktops and notebooks installed with Microsoft Office applications, insurance applications, Citrix client software, and Lotus Notes email. The hardware will be deployed in all 27 MZ offices and branches located at Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, Kangar, Alor Setar, Sungai Petani, Kulim, Pulau Pinang, Butterworth, Ipoh, Taiping, Teluk Intan, Kuala Terengganu, Kota Bharu, Kuantan, Bentong, Klang, Seremban, Port Dickson, Melaka, Johor Bahru, Kluang, Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Kuching, dan Miri.

“This agreement validates HP’s leading position as the preferred hardware provider, and also reaffirms our longstanding partnership with CSA,” said Danny Lee, Country General Manager, Personal Systems Group, Hewlett-Packard (M) Sdn Bhd. “This agreement demonstrates the value that HP’s Desktop and Mobility Lifecycle Solutions are able to offer, as they were designed to reduce the complexity and costs associated with IT infrastructure management,” he said.

Benefits from the CSA-MZ agreement
Key benefits of today’s agreement include:
Desktops and Notebooks Refresh – CSA will refresh MZ’s desktops and notebooks in 3 phases to generate a smooth transition for technology upgrades via the HP leasing programme.
Five-Year Managed Services – CSA will provide MZ comprehensive managed services encompassing the planning, design of the standard operating environment (SOE), implementation, commissioning, technical support, inventory management and software distribution for HP desktops and notebooks provided by CSA.

Single point of contact – CSA will provide a single point of contact for the technical support of HP desktops and notebooks via the CSA Advanced Call Centre Toll Free number.

Technical Support – CSA Engineers will provide on-site technical support for MZ’s headquarters and branch offices nationwide.