Electronic Data Systems Corp has signed a major deal with the National Association of Securities Dealers Inc worth up to $2bn over 10 years. The agreement will see the two form a joint technology services group called NasTech, moving more than 350 IT workers currently employed by the NASD to EDS. EDS will manage another 350 third-party consultants as part of NasTech, which will be headquartered in the NASD’s Rockville, Maryland technology center.
The agreement is being billed as the first of its kind in the securities industry and the NASD says it will realize over a half a billion dollars in cost reductions over the life of the 10-year contract, which itself is valued at between $1.5bn and $2bn. EDS will be responsible for applications development and maintenance, internet and intranet development, web hosting, and distributed systems support. It will also manage NasTech’s day-to-day activities and report to the NASD executive management. The operations and technology infrastructure of the Nasdaq Stock Market, another NASD subsidiary, are not included in the agreement.
