IBM Reaches Multibillion Dollar Outsourcing deal with UniCredit

Big Blue will transform the IT infrastructure that supports all of the Italian bank's commercial and private banking activities in Europe.

Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM announced it has reached a 10-year, multibillion dollar outsourcing deal with Italian financial institution UniCredit to create a cloud-based IT infrastructure for the bank.

IBM, which did not release the exact dollar amount of the deal, will transform the IT infrastructure that supports all of UniCredit’s commercial and private banking activities in Europe. UniCredit claims it will "gain dramatic efficiency and flexibility with the introduction of new service models and a cloud-based infrastructure for its data centers" as a result of the partnership.

Also, the agreement will include the creation of a joint venture between UniCredit Business Integrated Solutions – the global service company of UniCredit – and IBM, which will have employees in Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Czech Republic of both companies. The new company will market and deliver IT infrastructure services not only to UniCredit, but also to other companies and institutions.

IBM and UniCredit will also establish a "Value Creation Center" that will monitor trends in the banking and IT industries and identify emerging disruptive technologies to be rapidly introduced into UniCredit’s infrastructure, the company said.

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio