Oracle Outsourcing

I’ve been in the managed service industry and IT consultancy profession for almost 15 years and I've seen the process first hand of using outside firms to manage and deliver work normally performed within a organisation — although managed service contracts are a familiar concept to larger companies, smaller companies miss the trick of routinely outsourcings their noncore critical business disciplines, of which IT is one.

Why — maybe because they belive there is little or no choice? Larger companies use outsourcing to reduce/control costs and improve productivity.

Having a strong background in database technologies and working to provide services such are Oracle consultancy and Oracle support, it is easy to see how cost effective outsourcing can be for both small and large organisations.

An entire industry has evolved to serve companies' outsourcing needs and Quantix the UK's premier IT Managed Service provider is at the forefront of providing it.

Still not many businesses really understand the benefits of Oracle outsourcing. It's true that outsourcing can save money, but that's not the only reason to do it as Quantix who have implemented successful outsourcing relationships have discovered.

Capital costs Benefit. Cost-cutting is only one reason to outsource, but it's certainly a factor.
Outsourcing converts fixed costs into variable costs, releasing capital for investment elsewhere in the company. Outsourcing can also make a company more attractive to investors.
Resource efficiency. Businesses that do the whole thing themselves have much higher resource costs, higher research costs, increased limited staff developmenmt and logistical expenses, all of which have to be recovered. Using an outsourcing partner such as Quantix provides a cost structure and allows for economy of scale to can give your firm an important competitive advantage.

Manage labour costs. Recruiting, developing and training staff for short-term or peripheral projects can is inefficient and expensive, and contratct staff don't always have the same levels of commitment to an organisation. Outsourcing lets you focus your resources where they are a benefit to you business.

Oracle databases over the years have developed and grown and from an organisation's point of view, managing such a powerful database requires manpower, which can cost thousands of pounds. What Quantix has been able to do is save both small and large businesses from having spiralling costs by providing excellent Oracle Support packages to suit every business. Leading the way, in the IT managed service industry, Quantix has been able to help organisations see the true benefits of outsourcing.

Mentioned above are only a few of the benefits of outsourcing, so why don’t more SME outsource?

To find out how you can reduce your costs and become more efficient, please visit the Quantix website.

Oracle Critical Patch Update - April 2008

The Oracle Critical Patch Update for April 2008 is now available. Applying this Oracle patch is strongly recommended as soon as possible.

The Critical Patch Update Advisory is the starting point for relevant information. It includes the list of products affected, pointers to obtain the patches, a summary of the security vulnerabilities for each product suite, and links to other important documents.

Supported products that are not listed in the "Supported Products and Components Affected" section of the advisory do not require new patches to be applied. Also, it is essential to review the Critical Patch Update supporting documentation referenced in the Advisory before applying patches, as this is where you can find important pertinent information.

The Critical Patch Update Advisory is available at any of the following locations: Oracle Technology Network: http://www.oracle.com/technology/deploy/security/alerts.htm

The next four Critical Patch Update release dates are:

July 15, 2008
October 14, 2008
January 13, 2009
April 14, 2009

If your organisation is looking for Oracle Support or Oracle Managed Services, then please visit the Quantix website, where you will be able to find information on Oracle Consultancy, Oracle Solutions aswell as our full portfolio of the latest Oracle Technology.

Oracle 11g New Features

Back at Oracle Openworld 2006, Oracle announced some exciting new features of Oracle 11g, and they promise almost 500 new Oracle11g features. The most exciting relates to tools that automate the well-structured DBA tasks, freeing-up the DBA to pursue more challenging work, sounds great?

Oracle 11g grid is the next personification of Oracle's database management system, noted as probably the most flexible and robust data storage platform in the world.
Many of the Oracle11g new features are enhancements to automation of the inherently complex Oracle engine.

Oracle 11g has over 500 new features which include:

· 11g SQL new features
· 11g language & PL/SQL new features
· 11g DBA features
· 11g RAC new features & enhancements
· 11g performance features
· 11g security new features
· 11g Enterprise Manager (OEM) new features

For further information regarding Quantix Oracle Support and Oracle Database Managed Services please visit the Quantix website.

Quantix nominated for 3 Oracle Awards

For the third year running Quantix has been nominated for the prestigious "Oracle Technology Partner of the Year" award. In addition, Quantix has also been nominated for “Best Technology Partner – General Business” and “Continuous Investment in People & Learning”, with the final results due to be announced at the Oracle Partner Awards in February 2008.

These nominations cap another very successful year for Quantix as an Oracle Certified Advantage Partner. High demand for its market leading range of Oracle Support Services has driven contract revenues upwards by 35% to over £4m, whilst the trend of substantial revenue growth from all Oracle solutions looks set to continue. Since completing an MBO in early 2007 Quantix has invested substantially in additional Oracle personnel & technology, so that its dedicated Enterprise Applications Practice now numbers over 30.

Simon Goodenough, Sales Director of Quantix, commented:
"Our partnership with Oracle continues to go from strength to strength and we are extremely proud to be nominated in three separate categories. Not only do these nominations endorse the customer focused approach that we take to delivering Oracle solutions but they also recognise our commitment, expertise and experience.”

About Quantix:
Quantix, an Oracle Certified Advantage Partner and Microsoft Gold Partner, specialise in the provision of enterprise applications support and managed services to the Mid Market. Incorporated in 2002, Quantix has seen consistently strong growth in its range of support services and can now lay claim to a managed services contract base of over £4m. Quantix has a turnover of £7m and currently works with over 400 clients across numerous vertical markets, including Finance & Banking, Transport, Public Services, Business Services, Retail, Utilities and Telecoms.

Quantix win Oracle Managed Service Contract with leading soft drinks manufacturer Gerber Juice Co Ltd

Quantix Ltd, the leading Oracle Support & Managed Services specialist, announces a contract win with major soft drinks producer Gerber Juices Co Ltd.

The return on investment offered by Quantix and its range of remote Oracle Support Services was fundamental to the contract win and the potential cost savings available from this method of outsourced database support are estimated to be in the region £100k per annum. Throughout the term of the agreement Gerber Juices will have access to extensive Oracle monitoring, Remote Oracle DBA Services, DR best practice & 24*7 helpdesk services.

Simon Goodenough, Sales Director at Quantix said: “Quantix are extremely pleased to have secured an Oracle Support contract with a dynamic business such as Gerber Juices. Prior to agreeing service levels we invested a lot of time in understanding their business issues and made sure that our core services would deliver the necessary return, both technically and commercially”.

The contract win also included support for a number of key Microsoft SQL Server instances and the medium term strategy is likely to see Quantix assist in migrating Gerber Juices to a virtualized environment.

Julian Sterling, Group I.S Director of Gerber Juice, commented: “Quantix Managed Services have given us the range, depth and access to Oracle skills that we require to support our key operational systems. They have done this in a thoroughly professional and appropriate manner. Our experience to date reflects the positive comments we gathered during our due-diligence process”.

About Quantix:
Quantix, an Oracle Certified Advantage Partner and Microsoft Gold Partner, specialise in the provision of enterprise applications support and managed services to the Mid Market. Incorporated in 2002, Quantix has seen consistently strong growth in its range of support services and can now lay claim to a managed services contract base of over £4m. Quantix has a turnover of £7m and currently works with over 400 clients across numerous vertical markets, including Finance & Banking, Transport, Public Services, Business Services, Retail, Manufacturing and Telecoms.