itelligence and CBTS Partner for Holistic Infrastructure and Remote SAP Outsourcing Solutions

CINCINNATI, May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- itelligence, the leading provider of SAP software and services to midmarket companies, and CBTS, an enterprise-level provider of data center and cloud services, today announced a partnership to provide end-to-end infrastructure support and remote SAP outsourcing services.  Specifically, itelligence will provide remote SAP application support, administration and monitoring services through CBTS' newly expanded, state-of-the art data center in Lebanon, Ohio.  CBTS customers will benefit from a full-service combination of leading, on-demand solutions to address their unique IT and SAP needs.

The partnership comes as companies increasingly embrace SAP in virtualized environments to increase their hardware utilization and lower their energy costs.  According to VMware research, nearly 40 percent of SAP customers were trying SAP in a virtual environment in 2009.  itelligence and CBTS are also entering the field of full spectrum infrastructure support for both SAP and non-SAP applications.

"We will immediately enhance our value to customers by offering core SAP applications plus the cloud—specifically dedicated, private offerings for enterprise customers with needs that exceed 100 virtual servers and require complete isolation from other customers," said Steve Short, Vice President of Outsourcing for itelligence.  "By leveraging CBTS' highly regarded experience, we will provide customers with a more holistic outsourcing solution using one of the most cost-effective, technologically sound environments available."

Through itelligence Remote Application Support, CBTS customers will receive expert SAP assistance on demand, in any functional area, without incurring travel expenses.  itelligence's services, ranging from second-level help desk support to remote informal training via Web conferencing to ad-hoc Basis issue resolution, enable companies to focus on core business and keep strategic resources working on value-added activities.  In addition, itelligence's Remote Administration and Monitoring services ensure companies' in-house resources are properly allocated—and not wasted on hiring, training and retaining an SAP Basis staff.  CBTS clients will be able to achieve Service Level Agreements by using itelligence's monitoring tools to help boost system availability and performance.

CBTS has separately agreed to enter into a partner relationship with SAP under the SAP Partner Edge Program.  Through this program, CBTS will soon join itelligence as a SAP Certified Hosting Partner, authorized to provide both technical and functional support for SAP applications.

"We had a strong desire to leverage itelligence's deep SAP experience and, specifically, SAP application support and hosting expertise," said John Burns, President of CBTS.  "Our partnership will enable us to effectively secure SAP hosting certification, exclusively provide SAP application level support to future customers that reside in our hosting facility, and service both domestic and global clients with one of the most comprehensive support models in the market."

CBTS virtual server and cloud computing expertise includes VMWare Certification, Acadia Reseller Status, Cisco UCS Certification, plus the 2009 acquisition of Virtual Blocks, a leading developer of on-demand cloud computing services.  Over the past two years, CBTS has successfully launched hosted cloud offerings by focusing on customers requiring higher levels of security, including private network connectivity such as MPLS or I-VPN, as well as guaranteed service levels.  The company's multi-tenant cloud offering, called the Virtual Data Center (VDC), now supports more than 250 virtual machines.

"As an original Acadia partner, and given our experience with Cisco UCS, EMC and VMware, we're uniquely positioned to create, deploy, and host SAP environments," said Burns.  "Our future plans include the creation of an SAP Center of Excellence for Virtualized Implementations in our Lebanon lab, as well as joint development with SAP in areas like mobile access and cloud-based applications."

itelligence's consultants, averaging more than 10 years of industry experience, provide industry best practices with a solid understanding of the robustness of SAP in order to give customers the guidance needed to control their investment.  The company offers a complete portfolio of services, including SAP licenses, SAP consulting, as well as SAP hosting, training, and long-term customer support for the entire lifecycle of a business.  Services are supported by 1,100 dedicated consultants who have successfully implemented SAP solutions for more than 500 international companies.

About CBTS

A division of Cincinnati Bell Inc., CBTS combines the data networking capabilities of Cincinnati Bell with next-generation managed services that provide companies with flexible solutions for end-to-end IT deployment.  The CBTS business model can help organizations increase productivity and operational efficiency while reducing costs and risks through solutions that focus on business continuance, compliance, security, and technology infrastructure.  For more information, visit www.cincinnatibell.com/cbts.

About Cincinnati Bell Inc.

With headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Bell (NYSE: CBB) provides integrated communications solutions -- including local, long distance, data, Internet, and wireless services -- that help keep residential and business customers in Greater Cincinnati and Dayton connected with each other and with the world.  In addition, businesses ranging in size from start-up companies to large enterprises turn to Cincinnati Bell for efficient, scalable office communications systems as well as complex information technology solutions including data center and managed services.  Cincinnati Bell conducts its operations through three business segments: Wireline, Wireless, and Technology Solutions.  For more information, visit www.cincinnatibell.com.

About itelligence

itelligence Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of itelligence AG, an international full-service solution and consulting company with a global presence in 19 countries.  itelligence provides a broad range of consulting services and customer support services to maximize SAP solutions, including implementations, application support, hosting and training.  itelligence is a gold SAP channel partner authorized to resell SAP Business All-in-One solutions.  itelligence is one of only 22 SAP global services partners and one of only 12 SAP global hosting partners.  For more information please visit http://www.itelligencegroup.com

SOURCE itelligence