Ericsson (News - Alert) today announced that it's signed a five-year IT outsourcing contract with HP.

 

The new contract, which is an extension of a contract signed in 2003, includes infrastructure services, application hosting platform, helpdesk, desktop support and output services for Ericsson, according to the companies.

 

The existing IT outsourcing contract with HP ends this fall, company officials say.

 

Under the new contract, Ericsson’s IT services will updated for the future needs of the company’s employees and to ensure flexible support for its global business, officials say. The outsourcing contract does not include the maintenance for Ericsson’s internal, global, corporate voice and data network, they say. All these will continue to be managed by Ericsson’s business unit Global Services, who will also handle delivery of some business-critical applications and infrastructure services from its own Global Service Delivery Center, according to the company.

 

Commenting on the deal, Carl-Magnus Månsson, chief information officer and head of “Group IT” at Ericsson, said the company stands to gain significant benefits by outsourcing their IT operations. Outsourcing helps lower overall IT spending, reduces total cost of ownership and makes their IS/IT structure more efficient, he said.

 

According to Månsson, outsourcing also ensures they are flexible and able to adapt to changing IT demands. The company’s supplier has demonstrated it is the best-in-class provider and they are pleased to enter this long-term partnership, he said.

 

This is the second outsourcing contract Ericsson has signed this month. Last week, the company announced a five-year IT outsourcing contract with IBM (News - Alert) including application maintenance and development for Ericsson aiming to improve the efficiency of Ericsson’s IT delivery to approximately 70,000 end-users and reduce operational expenditures.

 

An extension of a contract signed in 2003, IBM’s new contract will update Ericsson’s IT services to cater better for the future needs of the company’s employees and ensure flexible support for the global business.