IBM signs five year deal with Woolworths

The agreement provides service management and maintenance of 130,000 hardware components such as printers, cash registers, servers, radio frequency devices and finger-scan time and attendance devices.

Terry Moloney, general manager IBM Integrated Technology Services, said that the agreement will "help Woolworths respond with flexibility to changing market conditions".

"IBM's TSM contract will provide Woolworths' 1400 stores with on demand IT infrastructure management and support. By outsourcing non-core activity such as maintenance of its IT infrastructure to IBM, Woolworths can focus on its core business. The five year agreement will help Woolworths to reduce costs, increase efficiencies and enhance organisational responsiveness," Moloney said.

Under the agreement, IBM will provide a single point of contact for service management of existing IT infrastructure across Woolworths Supermarkets including Safeway, Food for Less, BWS Liquor, First Estate Liquor, Plus Petrol and Dan Murphy.

IBM will manage the delivery of the infrastructure management service and will facilitate a competitive tender process to sub-contract aspects of services management to vendors.