Abbey National signs £70m desktop deal with Computacenter

Abbey National is to outsource its desktop infrastructure to Computacenter in a deal worth £70m over five years.

The contract begins on 1 September this year and replaces several existing contracts with a number of vendors.

Poor recent financial results have seen Abbey National undergo a group-wide cost review programme that has included a review of its IT arrangements and Computacenter will be responsible for enhancing the desktop infrastructure while at the same time contributing "significantly" to the bank's ongoing cost cutting programme.

Yasmin Jetha, IT director at Abbey National, said the deal is a significant expansion of the bank's existing relationship with Computacenter.

She said in a statement: "The desktop managed service proposition provided by Computacenter will enable Abbey National to become more efficient whilst also increasing flexibility to meet future business needs."

Simon Walsh, director of financial services at Computacenter, said businesses can save money by strategically outsourcing parts of their IT.

He said: "By selectively outsourcing areas of their IT infrastructure, companies are able to reduce the costs and complexities associated with managing these systems."