IBM has secured a new 10-year deal to operate and support R&SA’s entire IT infrastructure, including mainframes, mid-range servers, and desktops. It will also be responsible for infrastructure management in the integration of services across approximately 40 third-party technology suppliers.
The size of the deal was not disclosed, although industry analysts placed it at between $400m to $500m. The move extends the scope of an infrastructure standardization deal originally signed in 2001, which saw 285 R&SA employees transfer to IBM.
Meanwhile, Cable & Wireless has won a five-year multimillion-pound contract with R&SA to handle all aspects of its telecoms and network IT requirements in the UK until 2012. Specific services that it will deliver include voice, wide and local area IP networking, mobility, conferencing, contact center services, and managed security.
Cable & Wireless has been a provider of core communications services for R&SA since 2002. R&SA chose to build on the existing relationship because of the service track record that has been delivered to date. Cable & Wireless combined this delivery record with commercial flexibility and an understanding of the insurer’s business to provide a compelling proposition to R&SA.
