Bull’s production data centers have been the subject of an on-going modernization program. What are the main challenges for the outsourcing business? Bull Managed Services is constantly in the process of updating its offerings and know-how, in line with market needs, technology developments and best practice in the industry.

We are operating in a rapidly changing market and we have to continually adapt our resources to the needs and expectations of our customers, not just in terms of technologies, but also our processes, the flexibility of our services, variations in costs, security demands and service continuity.
These improvements have all been achieved while at the same time we have been rationalizing our production costs. Our approach is to constantly make progress in terms of our productivity and technology developments. Without that, it would be impossible for us to offer attractive and competitive services.

What have been the most significant investments or advances?
We are constantly investing in security and compliance with ISO and European standards. We are subject to regular audits, and the businesses that visit our centers pay particular attention to these audits.
Another major evolution has been the opening of our center at Trélazé (close to Angers in France) to the high-bandwidth regional network, which has enabled it to be connected to new operators. This has had an enormous impact on our business, particular thanks to the 24h/24, 7d/7 service continuity facilities which respond to the IT security and to the secure Internet access that can support very high transmission rates.
We have also set up a multilingual European call centre and increased the industrialization of our Open Source solutions. Our processes are also evolving in line with the ITIL® (IT Infrastructure Library) methodological framework, which has become the de facto standard for our outsourcing customers.
In April 2005, the excellence of our Trélazé center was recognized with the award of our SAP Hosting certification, a confirmation that Bull meets the exacting quality, security and customer satisfaction standards set by SAP.

How does Bull differentiate itself in this marketplace?
Today we have a significant hosting capability. Our offerings are much more flexible, which matches well with our customers’ changing expectations. And our industrial-scale resources mean we are in a good position to respond to new requirements, such as:

• Access to professional-scale support services and porting of solutions to Open Source
• Hosting and operation of business solutions
• Consolidation of customer infrastructures.

Capitalizing on its experience of numerous successful projects in Europe – with contributions from experts and customers from several major organizations – Bull has published its latest white paper on the Open Source “revolution” and best practices. Aimed at decision-makers who are considering how best to exploit Open Source software components and integrate them into their information systems, the white paper provides a guide to understanding the Open Source phenomenon from a strategic, business-oriented point of view.

Based on interviews with experts and IS Directors, as well as its own unique experience as a manufacturer, software publisher and systems integrator on Open Source projects, Bull sets out the ten golden rules for successful Open Source projects, as well as:

• The main challenges associated with Open Source
• Eight Open Source myths and the realities behind them
• Four classic errors to avoid in implementing Open Source
• Six best practices for successful implementation.

The paper is further enhanced by exclusive interviews with the Chairman of Europe’s leading Open Source community, ObjectWeb, and two IT Directors from major organizations:

• Jean-Pierre Laisné, Chairman of the ObjectWeb Consortium
• Colonel Nicolas Géraud, Assistant IS Director of the French Gendarmerie Nationale
• Jean Milliez, IS Director of ACOSS (the central agency for social security funds in France).

The white paper can be downloaded free of charge from >>