HCL Technologies Ltd. (“HCL”), leading global IT services company, today announced signing an ecosystem engagement with AwalNet, Saudi Arabia’s leading ISP and Telecom service provider.

Under this engagement, Awalnet will provide the local touch-points, including Service Desk support in Arabic, while HCL itself will be responsible for delivering Integrated IT management services from its various globally benchmarked & ITIL aligned ISO 20000 certified centres. This will enable delivery of strong, process-based IT service management with predictable and consistent end-user performance, covering the technology domains of data centre, systems, storage, networks, security & end-user IT support. With this engagement HCL will better penetrate enterprises in Middle East with its end-to-end transformational service offering where the demand and need for ‘localized’ services coupled with 24x7 advanced IT operations is extremely high. HCL will be aligning with an ecosystem of partners across GCC to create a local interface for delivering its global IT management services

Commenting on this engagement, Kiran Bhagwanani, Country Manager, ME & India, HCL Technologies, said, “Our joint proposition with Awalnet addresses the strong need for localized support and face that this region demands and complements the same with HCL’s globally benchmarked processes and integrated service delivery framework‚ providing 24X7 proactive and predictable IT service management. AwalNet is a highly respected leader in Internet and Telecom Services and we are confident that its rich experience and local roots married with HCL’s world class services will provide a compelling IT management proposition to enterprises in Middle East”

Commenting on its engagement with HCL, Mr. Fahd, President, AwalNet, said, “By aligning with HCL who is the pioneer of Remote IT Infrastructure Management and a global IT services leader, we seek to extend to our new and existing customers the benefits of HCL’s IT management services which promise IT operational efficiencies and transformational benefits including 24X7 service, online advanced reporting, IT intelligence and instant alerting while dramatically reducing costs leveraging its pioneering global delivery model of IT Management. We are very excited to be taking this unique proposition forward in KSA and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial engagement with HCL”.

HCL has been making significant investments in the Middle East and already counts prestigious brands in this region as its customers. The company had announced its GTM partnership with AEC in Saudi Arabia in April 2007 followed by a strategic partnership with HyperLink for System Integration & Application Operations services around Oracle suite of products (including Siebel, Peoplesoft, Hyperion, OTM). With its debut in Gitex Dubai this year, the company will be on a look-out for inking more partnerships in the region. At Gitex, HCL is exhibiting its wide range of Integrated IT Solutions and Services for business transformation covering the end-to-end of the IT spectrum including systems integration, package implementation, application development and maintenance and IT infrastructure Management.

Sourced From: Genesis Burson-Marsteller