IBM Announces a 10-Year Strategic Partnership with UniCredit to Deliver New Services

The multi-billion dollar agreement will enable UniCredit to leverage innovative solutions and Cloud technology, gaining significant levels of efficiency and competitiveness

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Jul 18, 2013, 08:00 ET

ARMONK, N.Y., July 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced today a multi-billion dollar, 10-year agreement to transform the IT infrastructure that supports all of UniCredit's commercial and private banking activities in Europe. As a result of this transformation, UniCredit 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, Unicredit clients would be able to access new and innovative services that meet the growing demand for sophisticated financial services in Europe.

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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. With the combination of leading edge skills applied to the banking industry, the new company is ideally positioned to contribute to reshaping the industry in Europe. As part of the agreement, the company will market and deliver IT infrastructure services not only to UniCredit, but also to other companies and institutions.

Innovation is at the foundation of the partnership between the two companies. IBM and UniCredit will establish a Value Creation Center that will aim to harness innovation to provide superior service and drive success for clients on a continuous basis. The Center will monitor trends in the banking and IT industries and identify emerging disruptive technologies to be rapidly introduced into UniCredit's infrastructure.

Cloud analytics will make it possible for UniCredit to better predict and understand trading in financial markets, manage spending and provide the most innovative customer solutions.

"UniCredit's innovation-driven approach to sourcing reflects changing motivations in the strategic sourcing marketplace," said Erich Clementi, senior vice president, IBM Global Technology Services. "When making sourcing decisions, forward thinking organizations like UniCredit are moving beyond basic needs like cost-cutting to higher-order business outcomes such as growth, competitive advantage and, of course, innovation."

Major organizations which are leaders in the world markets choose to go into partnership with IBM to access superior innovative technologies to acquire necessary capabilities and expertise. According to the IBM Center for Applied Insights study, "Why partnering strategies matter," involving more than 1,300 business and IT sourcing decision makers worldwide, organizations that have made that shift are outperforming on a host of financial measures, including revenue and gross profit growth.

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Contact:
Trink Guarino
IBM Media Relations
(203) 947-4632
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Alessandro F. Ferrari
IBM Media Relations
+39-0259624690
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SOURCE IBM