Ford and Compuware Open Application Management Centers in Europe
24 April 2000
Ford and Compuware Open Application Management Centers in Europe
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., April 24 Compuware Corporation
(Nasdaq: CPWR) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) announced today they have
signed an agreement to fully implement Application Management Centers (AMCs)
in Essex, United Kingdom and Cologne, Germany. These locations follow the
implementation of an AMC site opened in 1998 at Ford's worldwide headquarters
in Dearborn, Michigan.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991203/CPWRLOGO )
The agreement calls for Ford and Compuware to jointly manage Ford's
worldwide application portfolio, which includes over 1,500 applications in
areas such as Manufacturing, Marketing and Sales, Product Development and
Finance. More than 300 of these applications are managed from the Ford
offices in Essex and Cologne. Ford will determine business goals for their
application portfolio, while Compuware will be responsible for all technical
aspects of application management. The European AMCs will allow Ford to
redeploy and refocus its European Information Technology (IT) staff on
strategic initiatives and business development goals. The Dearborn AMC is
already demonstrating improved quality and increased productivity -- and
Compuware and Ford expect to duplicate these successes in Europe.
"Ford has formed a strategic IT partnership with Compuware, enabling Ford
to focus on key strategic initiatives and core business competencies," said
Mary Hepler, Vice President, Professional Services Division at Compuware.
"Combining Ford's business knowledge with Compuware's IT skills and
methodologies allows us to deliver competitive value to Ford's user community
faster and more economically. We will help Ford cut annual costs by 30
percent while achieving high application quality and performance."
Both European AMCs were established during the past year and are fully
functional with about 350 Ford IT professionals working with new Compuware
staff. The centers will support all of Ford's European applications currently
in operation and an estimated 100 new applications per year that will take
advantage of the latest technologies based on the Internet for e-business
solutions.
"We're pleased with this agreement and see it as a natural extension of
the original Application Management Center Agreement we signed with Ford in
1998," continued Hepler. "Through this agreement, Compuware and Ford will
continue exploring innovative ways to achieve Ford's reduced time-to-market
objectives for delivering application software. We want to help Ford continue
achieving best-in-class IT capability."
Compuware Corporation
With trailing 12-month revenues of more than $2 billion, Compuware is a
world leader in the practical implementation of enterprise and e-commerce
solutions. Compuware productivity solutions help 14,000 of the world's
largest corporations more efficiently maintain and enhance their most critical
business applications. Providing immediate and measurable return on
information technology investments, Compuware products and services improve
quality, lower costs and increase the speed at which systems can be developed,
implemented and supported. Compuware employs more than 15,000 information
technology professionals worldwide. For more information about Compuware,
please contact the corporate offices at 800-521-9353. You may also visit
Compuware on the World Wide Web at http://www.compuware.com .
For sales or marketing information:
Compuware Corporation, 31440 Northwestern Highway, Farmington Hills, MI,
48334, 800-521-9353, http://www.compuware.com
Compuware is a registered trademark of Compuware Corporation. All other
product and company names are trademarks of their respective owners.