Fujitsu Siemens Computers will be responsible for the controlled operation of 5,000 severs and 1,500 databases over the next three years. The long-term goals are to substantially reduce costs, establish transparent structures through a central service partner and to improve data centre performance.

In the past, Daimler had used several external providers to manage some parts of the EDC's operation, but has now centrally assigned responsibility to Fujitsu Siemens Computers in order to realize further savings and improve service quality.

The combination of on-site services and off-shoring to sites in Stuttgart and Bangalore allows Daimler to significantly reduce costs. Services will be provided according to ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) standards, and clearly defined Service Level Agreements will ensure a high level of system availability, security and reliable performance.

In particular, Fujitsu Siemens Computers' expertise in managing large global IT projects will improve the quality and enhance the performance of Daimler's data centre services. An innovative range of services for the operation and support of the EDC will allow Daimler to monitor targets relating to costs, reliability and flexibility.

Richard Schlauri, Executive Vice-President Infrastructure Services at Fujitsu Siemens Computers, explained: "This contract is a mark of confidence in our Managed Data Center competence. It is also another important step forward for us on our way to becoming a full-line provider of products and services that enable our customers to establish and operate efficient and highly-available infrastructures through one source."

Other responsibilities within the scope of the contract include the maintenance of complex software environments, as well as the further development and administration of technical and process-related service order information using a knowledge database. This also includes the recording of failure reports using a ticket management system, whilst pro-active monitoring and reporting will help Daimler to avoid IT infrastructure failures.