Builders' merchant Jewson is bringing all its PC
applications support in-house after dropping its application
service provider.
Jewson is deploying business applications to almost 1,000 users
around the UK via a thin client Citrix system implemented by
integrator Esteem Systems as part of a £400,000 deal.
Jewson was one of the first UK users to adopt the ASP managed
service model back in 2000, when it signed a deal with Futurelink.
At the time it said its decision was based on cost and flexibility.
However, Colin Bauckham, IT project manager at Jewson, said the
firm faced "continued performance problems and issues with
manageability, risk and cost of ownership" with the ASP
system.
Bauckham said users were not always able to rely on full
functionality with the ASP system, screens often froze, and systems
regularly went down.
Jewson will now support users via a Citrix and Windows 2003 server
system controlled by its Huddersfield datacentre.
Bauckham said, "The new Citrix infrastructure supported by our own
people will give a better user experience with PeopleSoft, SAP,
intranet and Microsoft Office applications."
Paul Perry, chairman of Freedom, which acquired Futurelink and the
Jewson contract, acknowledged that the firm had experienced
technical problems, but said the cause was not clear-cut. "Jewson
had multiple layers to its system and its communications network
included bandwidth down to as little as 64kbps to some user sites,"
he said.