“The move will benefit AIT immensely as it would not only reduce
costs, but also help obtain required IT professional services from an
experienced and qualified team,” AIT president said after signing the
contract. Netlink President Anurag Shrivastava stated that it would
help increase the current service levels and possibly broaden the
current service areas, apart from introducing best practices in
providing IT services. “Moreover Netlink will provide services 24
hours-a-day and seven days a week,” he added.
Under the outsourcing contract, Netlink will provide all IT
professional services, including the operation and maintenance of
hardware/software required during the contract period of five years. It
shall also be responsible for the smooth and satisfactory performance
of all IT services delivered. The entire IT operations at AIT will be
managed by Netlink from 1 April 2010, and the period till 1 April will
be regarded as transition period.
In terms of infrastructure, Netlink will provide network services,
data center services, network security, desktop services, hardware
support, communication infrastructure support and helpdesk services. On
the application side, it will provide application development,
maintenance, administration support; defect – root cause analysis,
change request – impact analysis and service level agreements based
support services.
According to Dr. Agus A. Harianto, IT Coordinator at AIT, Netlink
specializes in distance education and e-learning applications,
networks, ERP (Blackboard) Integration and it can assist AIT in
connecting with many prestigious universities in the United States and
India, for faculty and student exchange programs as it already works
with many universities as industry partners. There are also
opportunities for employment and internship for our students. The
decision to outsource IT services follows a recommendation of the IT
Task Force, headed by Prof. Peter Haddawy, Vice President (Academic
Affairs).
Netlink will employ offer employment to all affected staff. AIT was
advised by law firm Baker &
Mckenzie while finalizing the contract with Netlink.
About Netlink:
Netlink, based in Bhopal,
India, and with corporate headquarters in Madisson Heights, Michigan,
USA enjoys wide experience in dealing with educational institutes like
Kettering University, Michigan,
USA; Rajeev Gandhi Technical
University, Bhopal, India and University of Detroit at Mercy, USA.
With a revenue of $ 60 million, it has over 600 team members worldwide.