“Agility and a flexible organisation,” replies Jukka Konttinen, Key Account Manager at Netox.
“Presence and dependability,” says Janne Suokas, Service Manager at the University of Oulu.
The service contract of hardware deliveries to site, made between the university and Netox, was signed a little over one-and-a-half years ago. It covers the entire personnel at all units of the university across Northern Finland and in Kainuu, as well as staff at Oulu University of Applied Sciences. The total number of employees covered by the service at the campuses and remote working locations is over 4,200.
Online shop with personal service
“We deliver up to 1,400 workstations every year, plus displays and other accessories,” Jukka Konttinen says. “Customers can see the different hardware options in our Linnanmaa campus shop. The order is placed in our online shop, and we deliver the computer and install it at the workstation. We provide induction training and ensure that everything works as it should.”
Janne Suokas could not be happier with the process. “We wanted a reliable local partner that would manage our hardware and have a shop at the campus. Netox took responsibility for the whole package quickly and with admirable expertise,” Suokas says. “With this process, we discontinued the leasing of hardware and adopted the service hardware concept. The university purchases the hardware from Netox, and Netox is responsible for its installation and deployment and ensures internal invoicing in cooperation with the ICT services. The lifecycle of service hardware was extended by one third without additional costs, which makes this solution highly ecological. The service hardware concept also enables renting hardware flexibly for a short term, which our staff have found extremely helpful.”
Throughout Northern Finland
Netox delivers workstations to the customer’s desk in the Oulu region and uses the postal services and remote help with deliveries to other regions. “The university has units across Northern Finland, such as in Sodankylä,” says Jukka Konttinen. “We try to meet their needs as best as we can, depending on the situation. If the customer is uncertain, we help them with selecting the right hardware. We find out their needs and suggest the best device. A high-quality laptop is enough for most people these days. However, we still deliver desktop computers for research use. For example, 3D modelling requires highly efficient hardware. We always operate according to the customer’s needs and wishes.”
Continuously developing together
The increase in remote work creates new challenges for hardware deliveries, cyber security in particular. “We are thinking about new service concepts that would serve the needs of the changing work environment,” Janne Suokas says. “Employees who visit the campus only once in a while must have the same services and same level of information security as everyone else. This is also a matter of training. We are discussing an overall solution with Netox that would also take these needs into account.”
