GBM, Ankabut strengthen IT support for UAE education sector

Gulf Business Machines (GBM) has partnered with Ankabut for the first deployment of an Internet Services Provider (ISP) Control Desk in the education sector in the UAE.

The new solution called REACH is expected to help universities to reduce their IT support costs and adopt service management capabilities without the burden of hosting it, thus serving students and faculty more efficiently.

Miguel Khouri, General Manager, Abu Dhabi and Yemen, GBM, said, “When Ankabut came to GBM with the request to implement a multi-tenant service desk for better visibility of their network, infrastructure, applications and assets, we knew this was a great opportunity to create an innovative solution which would be a game-changer in the UAE education sector. We proposed a unique ‘Control Desk as-a-Service’ solution based on IBM’s Control Desk which provides a scalable multi-tenancy offering of integrated services management and end-user self-service capabilities, accessible through both web and mobile. We are excited to have Ankabut on board to deploy this solution and we are confident it will benefit the local education sector to a large extent.”

According to GBM, REACH will enable Ankabut to streamline the IT service management procedures across the connected universities and academic institutes. Moreover, with the new deployment, Ankabut can now provide a broader range of support services to its subscribers with a scalable solution.

Fahem Al Nuaimi, CEO, Ankabut said, “Ankabut was looking for a service desk which can both satisfy the current requirements and accommodate an increased future capacity. Ankabut chose GBM because of the company’s proven track record in implementing IBM products and services, as well as its strong presence and reputation in the GCC. Thanks to the company’s project management methodology, excellent reporting system and project updates, the solution was delivered on time and as per the scope and budget”.

“The IBM Control Desk has helped improve the efficiency of our support system, allowing us to increase the satisfaction of the universities we work with. We will continue to collaborate with GBM to meet our future strategic initiatives with IT”, stated, Mr. Qutaiba Al Hammadi, Manager Application Development & Delivery, Ankabut.

The REACH service desk will control and distribute the privileges and permissions for clients based on their requirement and services. An ITIL-focused approach has also been incorporated in order to manage the services of a wide range of universities with ease and accuracy.