Inbox Business Technologies has recently acquired IBM System Z competencies.  

Inbox Business Technologies has been partners with IBM since January 2005 when it first became IBM Tier-I Business Partner. Over the years this relationship has strengthened. In Quarter I 2008, Inbox received an award for Most Outstanding Achievement from IBM and became IBM Premier Business Partner. Based on its sales and technical competencies, Inbox became IBM System Z authorized partner in Q3 2008. 

In order to become IBM System Z (Main Frame) authorized partner, minimum of two people from sales and two from engineering teams are required to clear its technical certification. Inbox Business Technologies is the sole authorized IBM System Z (Main Frame) partner which designs and offers System Z solutions in Pakistan. 

IBM System Z is highly specialized mainframe which has a niche clientele. Currently there are only three companies in Pakistan - PAF, PIA and Pakistan Steel Mill, which are using System Z.  

The following Technical and Sales personnel from Inbox have acquired IBM System Z certifications.

Muhammad Nadeem Qureshi
Product Manager Servers & Storage, E-Business Infrastructure Group,
Inbox  IBM Certified Specialist - System z Technical Support V2

Jahanzeb Afzal
Lead Infrastructure Specialist,  E-Business Infrastructure Group, Inbox
IBM Certified Specialist - System z Technical Support V2

Naseer A. Khan
Sales Manager,  E-Business Infrastructure Group, Inbox
IBM Certified Specialist - System z Sales V2

Zahid Khan
Sales Manager,  E-Business Infrastructure Group, Inbox
IBM Certified Specialist - System z Sales V2

Inbox believes in keeping its customers well informed about its portfolio, current happenings, and future plans at all times. With this objective in mind, a visit to Inbox office located at Dawood Center, Karachi and Inbox Assembly Plant located at Maripur Industrial Area, was organized for some of the customers from Small & Medium Enterprise sector. 

The guests were given a brief introduction about the company and its domains. They were then taken to almost all divisions of the factory starting from equipment amalgamation to production to process of delivering the finished goods. Customers were also brought to the head office where they were shown the internal infrastructure of Inbox and its very own Technology Lab where many solutions and servers are already deployed.  It was an informative and interactive trip to serve the customers with latest technology news and updates about Inbox.

Visitors getting briefed on the operational capacity of Inbox Assembly Plant

1LINK – one of the largest shared ATM network in the country, covering 160+ cities nationwide; has acquired Technology Infrastructure products from Inbox Business Technologies. 1LINK (Guarantee) Limited is a consortium of major banks that own and operate the largest representative shared financial services network of Pakistan, serving as a catalyst for the development of eBanking in the country. In order to increase the computation capacity of its systems, 1LINK has acquired multiple IBM System x Servers from Inbox.

The Virtual University (VU), Pakistan’s first University based completely on modern Information and Communication Technologies has acquired Inbox Expedition 6000 series desktops and Inbox eBridge servers  from Inbox Business Technologies.  Virtual University with headquarters in Lahore opened its virtual doors in 2002 and in a short time spanned its reach to over sixty cities of the country, with more than a hundred associated institutions providing infrastructure support to the students.  Keeping the systems up and running to provide the best educational facilities to the students is of utmost priority to VU. By acquiring Expedition 6000 and eBridge servers, VU would be able to better fulfill the growing computational requirements of its campuses.

Inbox has signed the largest Microsoft Enterprise Agreement in the history of Pakistan. The $8.4m agreement by Inbox Business Technologies spans over three years and includes MS Enterprise Licenses as well as other value-added services. Inbox will be providing the licenses and services to Etisalat International Pakistan’s two concerns - PTCL and Ufone. Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) is the largest telecommunication company in Pakistan whereas Ufone is one of the largest cellular service provider.

The decision to award the project to Inbox Business Technologies came after a thorough vendor evaluation and bidding process. All Microsoft Direct Large Account Resellers (DLARs) participated in the bidding process; however, the value-added services offered by Inbox were unrivaled. Furthermore, PTCL has been a longstanding customer of Inbox Business Technologies and PTCL was completely satisfied by the services provided by Inbox in the past.

In 2005 PTCL had signed an MS Agreement which covered Ufone and PakDataCom. In April 2006, Etisalat International (Emirates Telecommunication Corporation) – a Dubai based telecommunication company acquired stakes in PTCL and Ufone. After privatization, PTCL and Ufone decided to sign their respective Enterprise Agreements under the umbrella of Etisalat.

The new management of PTCL and Ufone is currently in the process of taking its IT Infrastructure to the next level. The Enterprise Agreement for PTCL will legitimize over 3000 Windows operating system currently running at PTCL. As a part of the agreement, Inbox Business Technologies will lead the migration of PTCL’s Dominoes-based mail exchange to Microsoft Exchange 2007, as well as up gradation of Ufone’s Microsoft Exchange 2003 to ensure high-availability. Other value-added services include upgradation to Windows Server 2008, deployment of ISA Server with Disk Array, as well as Compact Disc Library Management Solution.

Inbox will also provide Consultancy services for IT Infrastructure Optimization, Data Protection Management, and Rights Management Services. Resident Microsoft Certified Professionals will also be deployed for real-time troubleshooting. These value-added services will be provided to both PTCL and Ufone. Trainings by local and foreign specialists will also be conducted by Inbox to educate PTCL and Ufone personnel.

Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia has acquired the services of Inbox Business Technologies for System Migration of their online applications.

The project entails migration of existing applications onto new technologies and platforms, without making any drastic changes to the business functionality so as to maintain the current operating procedures. These technologies comprise of Websphere, Linux, JDK 1.4, and DB2. For database conversion, data migration will also be conducted.

The applications that will be processed for System Migration include Generic Online Form, HK Credit Card Application, Manhattan HK Core Credit Card Application, Manhattan HK ‘ID’ Credit Card Application, E-Saver Account Opening Request, Manhattan SG Credit Card Application, Newsletter Subscription Option, Newsletter Subscription Option, Renovation Loan – Contractor Search, Unit Trust Fund Selector, as well as Mortgage AIP Calculator.

Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan has been working with Inbox Business Technologies for the past many years on various projects, including software development and maintenance. Raving testimonials from Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan based on its prior experience with the company has been instrumental in helping Inbox secure this deal with Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia.

After successfully deploying Technology Infrastructure products and implementing Branch Banking Automation at United Bank Limited through Digital Pen and Paper technology – Inbox has recently signed an Outsourcing Agreement with the bank.

UBL is one of the largest banks in Pakistan with over 1400 domestic branches spread all over the country and 19 overseas branches. To support such a vast spread network of a bank requires strong backend infrastructure and extensive support channel. In order to keep UBL systems well-maintained and functional at all working hours, Inbox Business Technologies has signed an annual Service Level Agreement with UBL. According to which Inbox will provide support and backup service to UBL.

Inbox through its state-of-the-art Service Desk System will be managing customer support and technical calls made for fixing and upgrading their workstations. A single centralized call center shall be handling all concerns made through online and on-call support system in real time.

Inbox will provide these service UBL branches at wide spread locations like Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Jhelum, Multan, Quetta, Gujranwala, Hyderabad, and Peshawar. Dedicated resident engineers will be deployed at various exigent localities of Pakistan in order to provide the most reliable and extensive systems support coverage to UBL. The services include Remedial Maintenance; Preventive Maintenance on quarterly basis for all the PCs and workstations under agreement; as well as a systems and procedures for trouble-ticketing and call escalation.

Beaconhouse School System, one of the largest and oldest private school chains in Pakistan has acquired the services of Inbox Business Technologies for equipping its computer laboratories.

Beaconhouse School System currently has presence in 26 cities across Pakistan with more than 125,000 students receiving quality education from pre-nursery all the way to post graduation. Beaconhouse with its well-laid out campuses in various locations nationwide offers the finest facilities for teaching and learning in the country. These campuses have been equipped with the latest state-of-the-art science and computer laboratories.

Inbox with its focus on medium and large enterprise particularly the education sector; has been selected by Beaconhouse to facilitate in setting up, further improving, and refurbishing its labs with more than 800 new Acer desktops.

After successfully deploying IT Outsourcing Services at Wateen Telecom, Inbox Business Technologies is now offering similar services to Shell Pakistan. Shell Pakistan is an energy and petrochemicals company playing a key role in helping meet Pakistan’s growing demand for energy in economically, environmentally and socially responsible ways.

Shell Pakistan has extensive coverage throughout Pakistan even at the most remote locations. Inbox carried out a comprehensive study of Shell Pakistan’s business environment and accessed the need for support engineers as a ratio of its business users. Based on this ratio, Annual Service Level agreement has been signed between Inbox Business Technologies and Shell Pakistan. As per agreement, remedial maintenance services (on-call services) will be provided by Inbox to Shell Pakistan for a one-year period. Certified resident engineers have been deployed at Shell premises to provide repair and backup services for systems on demand.

Inbox will provide support in all major cities in which Shell is currently operating. All technical queries and requests for service are routed through Inbox’s state-of-the-art Service Desk System (SDS) and executed via field service engineers.

From Left: Zahid Aurangzeb, Sales Manager, Inbox; Umair Alam, Services Program Architect, Inbox; Ameer Ahmed, Site System Operation Manager Retail BAM, Shell Pakistan; Syed Bilal Ashfaq, Application Specialist Site Systems Operations Retail BAM, Shell Pakistan

Inbox has been working with EGIBL since early this year starting with deployment of IT infrastructure, IT Consolidation and Disaster Recovery Solutions. Emirates Global Islamic Bank is a dedicated Islamic Commercial Bank sponsored by leading investors from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. It currently operates 10 branches throughout Pakistan including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Gujranwala and Quetta, Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Sialkot, and Pubbi, Sargodha.

As EGBIL’s presence in Pakistan is increasing, its requirements for IT infrastructure are also rising. Based on its requirements, EGIBL has been purchasing Technology Infrastructure products from Inbox. Recently an order of 13 IBM servers system x 3400 has been placed by the bank.