Ericsson will be responsible for remote maintenance and change management for traditional and IP-based PBXs used by Elisa's enterprise customers. In addition, the contract covers part of the field service in the Uusimaa region of Finland.

The agreement is Ericsson's first multivendor managed services deal in the enterprise area in Finland, and will provide the operator with increased efficiency. Elisa and Ericsson will also strengthen their cooperation in enterprise system sales.

Jukka-Pekka Pelttari, Head of After Sales Services at Elisa, says: "Outsourcing these functions to Ericsson as a strategic partner for managed services is an important step in strengthening Elisa's market position. This partnership will allow us to focus even more on our customers, and further explore Elisa's full growth potential as the major provider of enterprise communication services in Finland."

Mikael Bäckström, President of Ericsson Nordic and Baltics, says: "We are proud to support a pioneering operator such as Elisa in further strengthening its competitiveness in the enterprise communication arena. For Ericsson this agreement is a result of our focus on the enterprise segment, giving us the opportunity to invest further in the potential of this business area, both as end-to-end solution providers and a managed services business partner for enterprises and operators."

As part of the deal, 56 Elisa employees will be transferred to Ericsson, strengthening Ericsson's existing services capabilities in Finland and globally.

Ericsson's managed services offering has been developed to strengthen operators' and enterprises' competitiveness by achieving savings in network operations, shorter time-to-market for new services and technologies, and optimum quality of service.

 

Ericsson Media Relations  

Phone: +46 8 719 6992                                                                                        

E-mail: press.relations@ericsson.com

Ericsson has the telecom industry's most comprehensive offering in managed services, ranging from designing, building, operating and managing day-to-day operation of a customers networks, to hosting service applications and enablers, as well as providing network coverage and capacity on demand. As the undisputed leader in managed services, Ericsson has officially announced more than 100 managed services contracts with operators worldwide since 2002. Excluding hosting, Ericsson is managing networks that together serve 135 million subscribers worldwide.

Elisa is a leading Finnish communications and ICT solutions company offering a comprehensive range of communication services, including voice and data services, connections to the internet, customized ICT solutions and network operator services. Elisa is a pioneer in new mobile and content services.