AIT terminates IT Service Outsourcing under Netlink Software Private Limited

On an email sent to students on Thursday Morning, the acting President Prof Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai said that AIT has terminated the IT Professional Services outsourcing under Netlink Software Private Limited and the task will from now handled by AIT's in-house Internet Laboratoy (intERLab) lead by Prof Kanchana Kanchanasaut, the mother of Internet in Thailand. The email reads:

 

1 May 2013

 

Dear Members of the AIT Community,

After a very careful consideration and with legal advice from multiple sources, I agreed with the recommendation of the Financial Health and Budget Review Task Force (FRTF) to terminate the "Information Technology Professional Services Agreement" with Netlink Software Private Limited, based on Clause 21.1 of the Agreement. The termination will take effect on 15 May 2013.

This decision was made based on the review of our external consultant, Asian Intelligent Information Technology Co. Ltd. in 2012, who cited poor customer satisfaction and lapses in service, and concluded that Netlink performs poorly and lacks knowledge and operational capability in basic requirements such as network operations and security. Then, a follow-up committee composed of AIT's in-house experts unanimously agreed with the consultant's recommendation. Subsequently, another committee has worked out an outline for an alternative solution to Netlink.

Netlink's contract cost is approximately 1 million baht per month. With reference to the Executive Committee's guideline to save cost, the FRTF recommends that AIT's IntERLab Center take on this assignment as a special project, which turns out to reduce the cost by half and still provides better IT service to the campus. We all remember how IntERLab helped restore the IT infrastructure after the flood.

Based on the aforementioned reviews and discussions, and with the recommendation from the FRTF, I have decided to send the termination letter prepared by our legal advisers to Netlink Software Private Limited as attached.

 

Although Professor Kanchana Kanchanasut, VPR and IntERLab Director, has assured me that the transition shall be seamless, I wish to request all members of AIT community to be patient if there might be some inconvenience during the transition period. Meanwhile I would like to thank all members of the two committees, members of the FRTF and especially Prof. Kanchana for kindly accept this challenge during this difficult period of AIT.