Dell expands services portfolio to support, consulting

Dell Computer Corp. announced Wednesday a new set of services, called Premier Enterprise Services, aimed at speeding customization, installation and service of business systems for enterprise customers, the company said in a statement.

Premier Enterprise Services is made up of three offerings spanning consulting, deployment and support. Premier Enterprise Consulting will allow Dell customers to work in conjunction with Dell Technology Consulting to plan, create, implement and optimize systems built on Microsoft Corp. Windows 2000 and .NET applications. Premier Enterprise Deployment will help companies custom-configure systems and aid in their installation. Premier Enterprise Support is a suite of technical support services provided to Dell customers.

Premier Enterprise Support is divided into four levels of service: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze. Platinum and Gold support, targeted at data centers, clusters and large storage environments, will offer 24 hour engineer-to-engineer technical support, account managers who will provide a single point of contact, system monitoring and notification, remote storage, software support and on-site support. Silver support, aimed at users of workgroup servers, offers 24 hour hardware and software phone support and on-site support. Bronze, for non time-sensitive systems, includes 24 hour phone support, online help and next business-day response for parts and labour.

Premier Enterprise services are immediately available in the U.S. and Canada and are expected to be available worldwide by the end of the year, according to the company. The company did not provide pricing information.

Dell also announced Wednesday its Infrastructure Accelerator initiative, aimed at speeding the installation and configuration of databases and other business applications. The new service includes custom tools and software from i2 Technologies Inc., Microsoft, Oracle Corp. and SAP AG.