SERVICEONE GETRONICS, The IT Services arm of North 22, is continuously strengthening its support capabilities in depth and breadth to partner IT vendors in their 'back end' functions such as customer services, IT support and maintenance.

Operating under the ServiceOne Getronics brand, we are continuously upgrading our engineering skills set, strengthening our management organization and extending our geographical reach.

We are already one of the largest IT service providers in China and Hong Kong with more than 350 service personnel and 22 support centres. Through this extensive network of support centres established in key cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang, Chengdu, Wuhan, Xian and Hong Kong, we are currently able to cover more than 1,000 cities in China.

Taking over customer support for vendors

With this capability, we are ideally placed to support IT vendors who wish to outsource their servicing and maintenance support functions. They realize that they must focus their resources on their core business in order to attract, retain and grow their customers. They need to concentrate on "front end" functions such as sales and marketing.

They also realize that to set up a service infrastructure, which is a necessary adjunct but not their core business, is an arduous task in China with its vast territories. It could take years to implement and expensive to sustain.

Relieving companies of IT maintenance

In addition, there is a complementary trend for companies to outsource the support and maintenance of their IT systems and operations. This is particularly true of new companies starting out in China which they consider to be an important and strategic market they must break into.

Outsourcing is more cost effective and saves them the headache of recruiting IT personnel from a scarce pool of talent. The services we provide in this line range form preventive maintenance to system outage escalation.

We work closely with the customer to understand their needs and work out a package to suit their budget.

Outsourcing is a win-win deal for the companies and for ServiceOne Getronics. They receive excellent maintenance and technical support as we partner them in their growth and market penetration. We also grow form strength to strength in the process.