ICL must be doing something right in Yorkshire

ICL has won an extension to its contract with Yorkshire Electricity to supply billing and helpdesk services.

The outsourcing contract is worth £4m over the next two years and will undoubtedly save jobs at ICL's Salford data centre.

ICL personnel there will manage customer information, billing systems, financial systems and a helpdesk for Yorkshire Electricity IT staff.

The extension will bolster morale for ICL which has had a tough year so far, as it's an endorsement of the company's reputation in the utilities and local government markets.

The contract extension will be posted up as a big win alongside a £70m contract with Lewisham Council in south east London, which it picked up in September.

The company was forced to relinquish any hopes of launching on the stock market when its high-profile CEO Keith Todd resigned in August last year.

Since then, parent company Fujistu has taken a much stronger hold of ICL, and not without some disruption.

In June this year, Fujitsu announced a reorganisation which will draw subsidiaries ICL in the UK and Amdahl in the US together under a new name, Infracare, in the global services arena. Both companies have retained their original brands in their home markets.