Windows 7 has been praised by many analysts to be one of the most promising products released from Microsoft in recent years. A statement that Atea strongly supports after participation in the Windows 7 beta release program where the company adopted the technology on more than 300 internal PC’s in the Atea Group. In a recent survey by Deutsche Bank, 34% of CIO’s reported plans to upgrade to Windows 7. An internal survey among Atea customers shows that more than 47% are planning to upgrade to Windows 7 within the next 12 months and the first customers have already signed up for the upgrade process at Atea.
“We see the release of Windows 7 as one of the most promising business opportunities in many years and are very proud of entering this committed and strong strategic partnership with Microsoft for deploying two million Windows 7 clients over the next two years”, says Claus Hougesen, CEO in Atea. The co-operation will give Atea a market share of 16% based on the total PC Windows installed base in the Nordic and Baltic areas of 12.5 million clients.
Together, Atea and Microsoft have developed an effective and optimized model for helping customers with the Windows 7 upgrade process. This approach will help customers more quickly to understand the cost/benefits of a Windows 7 deployment and make the decision-making process easier and faster. “Our goal is to help our customers to take advantage of the many benefits of Windows 7 quickly and for a reasonable fixed price. Through our collaboration with Microsoft, we have developed the Atea 7 design approach to deployment. This will ensure that customers can take advantage of an optimized deployment approach to Windows 7 and start reaping the benefits right away,” says Claus Johansen, Group Director of Atea.
”‘We manage the whole upgrade process to the Windows 7 application for our customers, including assurance of software and hardware compliance, management and self services. In addition we provide end-user supporting materials and education. Most important, Atea takes care of the total package including scripting and roll out from our low cost and effective Riga Service Center to all users PC’s, and the installation of green and effective settings for the customers to realize full return on their IT investments,” Claus Johansen added.
Area Corporate Vice President for Western Europe in Microsoft Klaus Holse Andersen says: “With the launch of Windows 7 we are bringing to market our most secure and high performing operating system ever. We see great possibilities and business opportunities in the strong partnership we have established with Atea. We believe that the launch of Windows 7 will reach far beyond Microsoft, driving Atea’s revenues and growth for hardware, software and IT services.”
For further information, please contact: Claus Hougesen, CEO Atea ASA, mobile +45 3078 1200
Rune Falstad, CFO Atea ASA, mobile +47 9061 4482
Claus Johansen, Group Director Atea ASA, mobile +45 3078 1775
Read more at Microsoft and Atea’s common Windows 7 concept:
www.atea7.com.
About Atea Atea is the leading Nordic and Baltic supplier of IT infrastructure with approximately 4300 employees. Atea is present in 72 cities in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The Group delivers IT products from leading vendors and assists our customers with specialist competencies within IT infrastructure services. Atea has an annual revenue of approximately NOK 15 billion and is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange.
www.atea.com.