In-House Knowledge Leads to Outsourcing Initiative
Joanna Doyle
SEMCO Energy Inc., a natural gas distributor and energy services provider based in Port Huron, Mich., has formed an IT outsourcing company which will target firms using AS/400 platforms. The subsidiary, Aretech, evolved from SEMCO’s existing IT department.
Rudolfo Cifolelli, president of Aretech and senior VP and CIO of SEMCO, says the new initiative reflects growing market demand for IT outsourcing services.
“Information technology plays a vital and enabling role in corporate business activity,” Cifolelli says. “Effectively deployed, IT can provide a business with the knowledge, control and understanding to improve business operation. Over the past decade, it has been a growing trend for companies to focus on their core business activities and outsource all non-core functions. Increasingly, IT is one of those functions.”
Aretech offers its corporate customers -- primarily mid-sized companies running AS/400 platforms -- a range of services including platform operations, application operations, applications management, network management, desktop services and business operations. In addition to offering its IT outsourcing services, Aretech has reached an agreement with J.D. Edwards Co. (Denver) through which Aretech will become an applications service provider (ASP) for J.D. Edwards software. The company will also assist with e-commerce planning and execution, through services such as the creation of a supplier exchange and electronic billing.
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SEMCO Energy Inc. (new window)Aretech (new window)