IBM (NYSE: IBM) and ABN AMRO have signed a 10-year, multibillion-dollar services agreement to manage the IT infrastructure that supports the bank's operations globally. The agreement includes the implementation of a private IBM cloud together with further standardization and simplification of the existing IT landscape, from mobile computing to mainframe infrastructure.
Through continued optimization and transformation to cloud infrastructure, the bank targets to improve service quality, drive greater operational efficiencies and provide new and innovative products that meet the changing digital needs of its customers globally. This agreement is expected to create financial savings over the life cycle of the contract.
Based in the Netherlands, ABN AMRO serves retail, private and corporate banking customers. This agreement sees the extension of the bank's strategic IT relationship with IBM. It enables the bank further in their strategy towards a leading digital bank. The new agreement with IBM provides fully managed services for mainframe, servers, storage, end-user computing, help desk as well as application support, and is part of an enterprise-wide transformation initiative at ABN AMRO that is focused on improving profitability by combining customer focus with operational excellence.
"With the transformation of ABN AMRO and the strategic shift we see in the Industry, we will enable ABN AMRO in accelerating time to market, address and improve customer service," said Piet Bil, IBM Managing Director for ABN AMRO. "With this agreement we will further speed-up the transformation of ABN AMRO enabling the latest technology and services. Through our continued partnership, ABN AMRO will be able to evolve its IT infrastructure with new capabilities that leverage IBM's investments in cloud, as well as analytics and security."
