The five-year agreement comprises Managed Services in the area of field services, maintenance, provision of customer connections, logistics and repair including multi-vendor spare part management and systems support nationwide.
With this cooperation Versatel expedites the company's repositioning to focus on the business customer segment.
Joachim Bellinghoven, Chief Operating Officer, Versatel, says: "This strategic agreement will allow cost-reductions and a demand-driven adaptation of our operating expenses while improving the quality of our service level for our customers. Thus we can foster customer relationships and improve profitability while also securing the quality of our network. We are convinced that Ericsson also is a good choice for our colleagues to be transferred. They will be able to demonstrate their abilities and they will find good opportunities for their further career development."
Valter D'Avino, Ericsson Vice President & Head of Managed Services, adds: "Managed Services is a growth area both globally and in Germany. The Versatel employees to be transferred complement our existing services team already serving the largest network operators in Germany. This - as well as economies of scale from global tools and best practices - will bring about the synergies a single operator cannot achieve on its own."
Ericsson employs roughly half of its workforce worldwide, 45.000 people, in services. The partnership with Versatel further strengths Ericsson's managed services footprint in Germany. Ericsson has several managed services contracts in the country and has already provided Versatel with Microwave transmission capacity since 2010 and has been one of the suppliers to the optical transmission and access network.