Not surprisingly perhaps, Granada Computer Services SA, the Madrid-based subsidiary of UK-based Granada Group Plc, has been telling potential clients that third party maintenance saves money. In a seminar in Seville called Experiences in Contracting and Supplying Computer Maintenance Services, attended by various regional and national organisations, managing director of Granada in Spain, Juan Belon, claimed that up to 30% could be saved, although this depended on the type of machine involved. Granada had lined up a number of customers to testify to this. The Ministry of Justice said it had sought independent maintenance since 1988, because of cost reduction and improvement in service obtained. General Motors Corp-owned EDS Espana, said its American parent company had cut maintenance costs to 6% of the price of the equipment, when the manufacturers themselves had been charging between 10% and 12%. Finally, the Andalusian Health Service said that such maintenance services were swift and effective, this being particularly important in a field such as medicine. Granada Computer Services arrived in Spain in 1989 and now has 20 technical service centres in the country. Turnover was almost $12m in maintenance contracts last year, with 78% of the 122-strong staff employed in providing technical services directly.
