Beta Systems Software AG and Itellium Systems & Services GmbH sign strategic partnership agreement
Berlin/Essen (ots)
- ITELLIUM prepares itself for the Internet economy - Beta Systems: market-orientation in the development processes - Wide scope of cooperation at all levels
Beta Systems Software AG, Berlin, a leading provider of high-performance software for IT management, and ITELLIUM Systems & Services GmbH, one of the largest IT service providers in Europe, have just signed a strategic partnership agreement. The objective of the agreement is to intensify cooperation of the two companies in the areas of software product development and testing of Beta Systems' standard software solutions in both host and open system environments. For the Berlin software company in particular, the partnership will reduce the investment risk in its software development to a minimum due to its strategic partner's closeness to the market. The agreement enables ITELLIUM to arm itself for the increasing demands on IT service providers, largely caused by rapidly growing customer requirements with regard to the Internet economy. In cooperating closely in the development and testing of new software solutions, both companies expect to shorten innovation cycles and the "time-to-market"-span.
The agreement lays the foundation for a long-term collaboration, involving many opportunities to share experiences and ideas. ITELLIUM will inform Beta Systems of new market requirements for software solutions at an early stage. The software company will integrate these demands into its standard software. Using the feedback from ITELLIUM, Beta Systems can both increase its time to market and reduce the risks involved with bringing out new software products. Benefits of the partnership are therefore increased momentum towards the market and cost efficiency.
"With this strategic partnership we are documenting the confidence developed over many years of cooperation between ITELLIUM and Beta Systems", said Michael Schlensok, Head of Operations at ITELLIUM, commenting on the contract. "With direct access to development resources we anticipate a considerable increase in efficiency when launching new services for our customers", he continued.
Beta Systems' intention is to maintain an ongoing, unrestricted and open communication with its partner: "Towards ITELLIUM, Beta Systems presents itself as a 'transparent' software factory", explained Ralf Männlein, Member of the Management Board responsible for Sales and Marketing at Beta Systems Software AG. He went on to add: "This includes not only access to detailed project plans and technical development documentation for ITELLIUM, but also internal quality assurance reports."
ITELLIUM Systems & Services GmbH, Essen, Germany
ITELLIUM is the IT service provider of KarstadtQuelle AG. It was founded in 1999 in the merging of the IT departments of Karstadt, Neckermann and Quelle during the KarstadtQuelle AG fusion. ITELLIUM operates as an independent company with two business areas - Consulting & System Integration and Hosting & Application Services - thus offering an extensive range of services across the entire life cycle of IT solutions. With some 1,400 employees at the Essen, Frankfurt, Nuremberg and Leipzig sites, ITELLIUM is already one of the largest suppliers in the growing market for information technology. Long-term, ITELLIUM aims to become Germany's leading IT service provider for retail, mail order, tourism and financial services. For further information, go to www.itellium.com.
Beta Systems Software AG, Berlin, Germany
BETA Systems Software AG, Berlin, develops and sells high-performance IT management software solutions. Its key areas of expertise are in the fields of automation and optimization of important system functions, for the processing of very large volumes of data. Today, the company focuses on three strategic fields: document management, storage management and data center management. BETA Systems' international clientele includes large organizations in the industrial, financial, service and public sectors, as well as in the energy supply and telecommunications fields.
The software solutions developed by BETA Systems are distributed worldwide by its own and partner companies. The organization has 318 employees worldwide (as of March 2001), and in 2000 had revenue of around 41 million EURO. Since June 1997 BETA Systems' shares have been traded on the Neuer Markt, Frankfurt, under the symbol BSS. For more information, please visit us on the Internet at www.betasystems.com.
Contact:
Investor Relations
Arne Bassler
Beta Systems Software AG
Phone +49 (0)30 726 118 -170
Fax +49 (0)30 726 118 -881
E-mail: arne.bassler@betasystems.com
Public Relations
Paula Ziehr
Beta Systems Software AG
Phone +49 (0)30 726 118 -671
Fax +49 (0)30 726 118 -852
E-mail: paz-d@betasystems.com
For further details on the mentioned topics, please contact our
Investor Relations Department at:
Beta Systems Software AG
Investor Relations
Alt-Moabit 90d
D-10559 Berlin
Phone +49 (0)30 726 118 -170
Fax -881
E-mail ir@betasystems.com,
Internet: www.betasystems.com