Computacenter
Encyclopedia
Computacenter plc is the parent company
of a group of Europe
an companies
which provide computer services to public and private sector customers. Despite the spelling of the word "center", it is a UK
company based in Hatfield
, Hertfordshire
. Its competitors include Fujitsu
, Getronics
, Capgemini
and CSC
, as well as resellers such as SCC
. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange
and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index
.
and Peter Ogden
. In 1990, it opened Europe
's largest PC
outlet; in 1991, it was listed by The Independent
newspaper as one of the fastest growing independent companies in the UK and, by 1994, it had grown to became the largest privately-owned IT company in the UK. Computacenter was floated on the London Stock Exchange
in 1998. In 2006 the company extended its service facilities to include a new International Service Centre in Barcelona, Spain, and a customer help desk and remote management facility in Cape Town, South Africa.
The following year the company won BT’s inaugural Supplier Innovation Award for its work on virtualising and consolidating a number of their UK datacentres, helping BT reduce the carbon footprint of its Windows datacentre estate by 85%.
, implementation
, support
and management
of information technology systems
.
Computacenter advises customers on their IT strategy, implements appropriate technology from a wide range of vendors and manages their technology infrastructures on their behalf.
Computacenter is an Investor in People and in addition to its normal recruitment process, the company has an entry scheme for people it considers to have the most sales potential. Under this ‘Sales Associate Programme’, candidates are given an intensive 18 months training under the direct sponsorship of the company’s CEO. It says the successful candidates’ earnings could exceed £70,000 in their first year as an Account Manager.
series, which measures the performance of companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards; it has retained its membership for 5 years.
During 2007, the Computacenter group committed itself to the 10 core principles of United Nations Global Compact, which illustrates the company's adoption of sustainable and socially responsible policies, especially in relation to human rights, labour rights, the environment and anti-corruption.
The company also works with its customers to help them meet their 'sustainable IT' objectives. In November 2007 Computacenter won BT
’s inaugural Supplier Innovation Award for its work on virtualising and consolidating a number of their UK datacentres, helping BT reduce the carbon footprint
of its Windows datacentre estate by 85%. Computacenter says its cost-neutral service to Marks & Spencer has also helped M&S meet its WEEE requirements and its 'Plan A' environmental objectives, sending zero IT waste from M&S head office to landfill in 2008.
subsidiaries
and brand
s that address specific market segment
s:
In addition the following companies were acquired by Computacenter and are now integrated within their business:
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
of a group of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an companies
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
which provide computer services to public and private sector customers. Despite the spelling of the word "center", it is a UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
company based in Hatfield
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. Its competitors include Fujitsu
Fujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
, Getronics
Getronics
Getronics N.V. is a company, subsidiary of the Dutch IT & Telecommunications firm KPN since October 2007, focused on creating value for IT Workspace Management Services, Applications & Software Development Services...
, Capgemini
Capgemini
Capgemini is a French global IT services company, one of the world's largest management consulting, outsourcing and professional services companies with a staff of 114,274 operating in 40 countries. It is headquartered in Paris and was founded in 1967 by Serge Kampf, the current chairman, in...
and CSC
Computer Sciences Corporation
Computer Sciences Corporation is an American information technology and business services company headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, USA...
, as well as resellers such as SCC
SCC (Specialist Computer Centres)
Specialist Computer Centres is an information technology services firm, mainly catering for very large companies and public sector bodies. Headquartered in Tyseley, Birmingham, UK, it is Europe's largest privately owned technology company in terms of revenue and is Hewlett-Packard's largest...
. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index
FTSE 250 Index
The FTSE 250 Index is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions to and demotions from the index take place quarterly in March, June, September and December...
.
History
Computacenter was founded in the UK in 1981 by Philip HulmePhilip Hulme
Philip William Hulme is the co-founder of Computacenter, one of the United Kingdom's largest computer businesses.- Career :Having graduated at Imperial College, London with a first class degree in engineering, Philip Hulme secured a Harkness Fellowship and joined the MBA Programme at Harvard...
and Peter Ogden
Peter Ogden
Sir Peter Ogden is one of the founders of Computacenter, one of the United Kingdom's largest computer businessses.-Education:Peter was born in Rochdale, England. He was educated at Rochdale Grammar School...
. In 1990, it opened Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
's largest PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
outlet; in 1991, it was listed by The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
newspaper as one of the fastest growing independent companies in the UK and, by 1994, it had grown to became the largest privately-owned IT company in the UK. Computacenter was floated on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in 1998. In 2006 the company extended its service facilities to include a new International Service Centre in Barcelona, Spain, and a customer help desk and remote management facility in Cape Town, South Africa.
The following year the company won BT’s inaugural Supplier Innovation Award for its work on virtualising and consolidating a number of their UK datacentres, helping BT reduce the carbon footprint of its Windows datacentre estate by 85%.
Principal activities
The company is engaged in the supplyLogistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
, implementation
Implementation
Implementation is the realization of an application, or execution of a plan, idea, model, design, specification, standard, algorithm, or policy.-Computer Science:...
, support
Technical support
Technical support or tech support refers to a range of services by which enterprises provide assistance to users of technology products such as mobile phones, televisions, computers, software products or other electronic or mechanical goods...
and management
Systems management
Systems management refers to enterprise-wide administration of distributed systems including computer systems. Systems management is strongly influenced by network management initiatives in telecommunications....
of information technology systems
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
.
Computacenter advises customers on their IT strategy, implements appropriate technology from a wide range of vendors and manages their technology infrastructures on their behalf.
Service facilities
Computacenter also runs a partner network that covers 120 countries worldwide.Strategy
Computacenter's strategy to "ensure long-term earnings growth" is to focus on five goals:- Accelerated growth of its contractContractA contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
ual services business - Improved efficiency of its service operations
- Broadened range and depth of its service activities
- Extended presence in markets that offer greatest growth opportunity
- Reducing the cost of sale in its supply chain activities
Clients
Computacenter's customers include:- Amey
- Lloyds Banking Group (their largest customer account)
- Deutsche Bank
- Santander
- Logica
- TDG Ltd
- WM Morrison
- Marks & Spencer
- British Telecom
- BAA
- Reuters
- Unipart
- Channel 4
- BMW Group
- EDF
- Air Liquide
- The UK Government's Department for Transport ("DfT")Department for TransportIn the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
- Oaklands CollegeOaklands CollegeOaklands College is a Further education college in Hertfordshire, England in the United Kingdom.- Profile :Oaklands College is a large general Further Education College. It has campus sites in St Albans City, St Albans Smallford, Alban Park, Welwyn Garden City and a further training provision in...
- Doncaster CollegeDoncaster CollegeDoncaster College is a further and higher education college in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. It comprises two campuses, which are known as "The Hub" and the "University Centre".-Staff and students:...
Careers
Computacenter is a major employer, with over 4,000 staff in the UK and around 10,000 across Europe. Because of the company’s managed services/outsourcing business, many of these people work on customers’ sites. Computacenter employs technical consultants, project managers, field engineers, sales admin and account managers and help desk staff.Computacenter is an Investor in People and in addition to its normal recruitment process, the company has an entry scheme for people it considers to have the most sales potential. Under this ‘Sales Associate Programme’, candidates are given an intensive 18 months training under the direct sponsorship of the company’s CEO. It says the successful candidates’ earnings could exceed £70,000 in their first year as an Account Manager.
Current Sponsorships
Computacenter is:- Principal business partner and title sponsor of the Professional RugbyRugby footballRugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
Players' Association's ("PRA") Rugby Players' Awards Dinner, held at the Grosvenor House HotelGrosvenor House HotelGrosvenor House is a large and luxurious hotel. The iconic Mayfair, London hotel is owned by the Sahara Group. The name has also been licensed to a property in Dubai....
. - Sponsor of Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service'sHertfordshire Fire and Rescue ServiceHertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service for the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is administered by a Fire Authority which is an internal part of Hertfordshire County Council...
fire investigation dog, one of seventeen such dogs used in England to support accelerant detectionFire accelerantIn fire protection, an accelerant is any substance or mixture that "accelerates" the development of fire. Accelerants are often used to commit arson, and some accelerants may cause an explosion...
in arsonArsonArson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
investigations, which is a black Labrador RetrieverLabrador RetrieverThe Labrador Retriever is one of several kinds of retriever, a type of gun dog. A breed characteristic is webbed paws for swimming, useful for the breed's original purpose of retrieving fishing nets. The Labrador is the most popular breed of dog by registered ownership in Canada, the United...
named "CeeCee".
- Platinum sponsor for "Team Storm", a robotic combatRobot combatRobot combat is a hobby/sport in which two or more custom-built machines use varied methods of destroying or disabling the other. As of today, in most cases these machines are remote-controlled vehicles rather than autonomous robots, although there are exceptions, particularly in the field of...
team of "roboteers", which won the title of "World Champion" in the seventh series of Mentorn's "Robot Wars" television programme with their "Storm II" robotRobotA robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
.
Past sponsorships
In the past, Computacenter has sponsored:- Founding sponsor of the Computacenter Cathcart Spring Proms, which is a classical "Variety Performance" of diverse works played by musicians, choristers, soloists and groups in the Royal Albert HallRoyal Albert HallThe Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
. - Sponsor of the "Best Use of Technology" category in the British LegalLaw firmA law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
Awards, 2007. - Marcos Engineering'sMarcos (automobile)Marcos was a British sports car manufacturer. The name was a combination of founders Jem Marsh and Frank Costin.-History:Marcos was founded in Luton, in Bedfordshire, England, in 1959 by Jem Marsh and Frank Costin. Frank Costin had earlier worked on the De Havilland Mosquito fighter-bombers and...
GT Le Mans LM500 & LM600 racecars, which won the 1995 BRDCBritish Racing Drivers' ClubThe British Racing Drivers' Club is a membership body which represents the interests of professional racing drivers from the United Kingdom.-Early days:...
National Sports GTSports car racingSports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....
Championship and finished in seventh place in the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hour race24 Hours of Le MansThe 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
. - The Six Nations ChampionshipSix Nations ChampionshipThe Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
rugby unionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
competition, for which it provided match statistics and analysis in 2002. - The English Challenge Open golfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
tournament, an event in the European Challenge TourChallenge TourThe Challenge Tour is the second tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and as with on the main European Tour and the European Seniors Tour, some of the events are played outside of Europe...
, in 2004. - The Halifax Blue SoxHalifax RLFCHalifax RLFC is one of the most historic rugby league clubs in the game, formed over a century ago, in 1873 in the Yorkshire town of Halifax. Known as 'Fax', the official club colours are blue and white hoops, blue shorts and blue socks . They share The Shay stadium with football club FC Halifax Town...
rugby Team
Charitable activities
Computacenter’s charity partners are Willow Foundation, Macmillan Cancer Support and The Children’s Trust. The company supports and organises fundraising events such as dress down days, charity races and sponsored staff expeditions, which have included an expedition to Everest base camp. Computacenter donated £87,000 to charity in 2008Corporate Social Responsibility
Computacenter is a constituent of the FTSE4Good IndexFTSE4Good Index
The FTSE4Good Index series is a series of ethical investment stock market indices launched in 2001 by the FTSE Group. A number of stock market indices are available, for example covering UK shares, US shares, European markets, and Japan, with inclusion based on a range of corporate social...
series, which measures the performance of companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards; it has retained its membership for 5 years.
During 2007, the Computacenter group committed itself to the 10 core principles of United Nations Global Compact, which illustrates the company's adoption of sustainable and socially responsible policies, especially in relation to human rights, labour rights, the environment and anti-corruption.
The company also works with its customers to help them meet their 'sustainable IT' objectives. In November 2007 Computacenter won BT
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
’s inaugural Supplier Innovation Award for its work on virtualising and consolidating a number of their UK datacentres, helping BT reduce the carbon footprint
Carbon footprint
A carbon footprint has historically been defined as "the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person.". However, calculating a carbon footprint which conforms to this definition is often impracticable due to the large amount of data required, which is...
of its Windows datacentre estate by 85%. Computacenter says its cost-neutral service to Marks & Spencer has also helped M&S meet its WEEE requirements and its 'Plan A' environmental objectives, sending zero IT waste from M&S head office to landfill in 2008.
Subsidiaries and brands
Computacenter operatesBusiness operations
Business operations are those ongoing recurring activities involved in the running of a business for the purpose of producing value for the stakeholders...
subsidiaries
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
and brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
s that address specific market segment
Market segment
Market segmentation is a concept in economics and marketing. A market segment is a sub-set of a market made up of people or organizations with one or more characteristics that cause them to demand similar product and/or services based on qualities of those products such as price or function...
s:
Subsidiaries
- RDC, which offers IT equipment disposal, remarketing and redeployment services (for which it received the "Queen's Award for Enterprise: InnovationQueen's Awards for EnterpriseThe Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation or sustainable development. They are the highest official UK awards for British businesses...
" in 2002).
In addition the following companies were acquired by Computacenter and are now integrated within their business:
- Digica, which provides outsourcing and managed IT services to the corporate mid-market and the Public Sector.
- Allnet, which specialises in network integration and structured cabling services
Vendor partners
The tables below list a selection of Computacenter's vendor partners and examples of the accreditations held with each:EWLINE
|
EWLINE
|