Somerfield inks 7-yr deal with TCS to outsource IT infrastructure

London, Dec 5 (UNI) Supermarket chain Somerfield has signed a seven-year deal with Tata Consultancy Services to outsource the management of its entire IT infrastructure to India.

The retailer is expected to cut its IT costs by a third by the 33 million pounds deal.

Under the deal, TCS will take responsibility for managing Somerfield's mainframes, Unix and NT platforms and delivering IT services to 900 retail outlets and eight distribution depots.

The supplier plans to exploit developments in technology to administer user accounts, deploy software upgrades and manage capacity remotely from India.

About 115 of the 141 IT jobs at the retailer's Bristol IT headquarters will be cut, but Somerfield plans to retain a 25-strong team to manage the contract.

''Somerfield will retain responsibility for strategy and significant elements of business analysis, project management and architectural oversight. All other IT delivery functions, excluding development, will be outsourced to TCS,'' said Mike Bell, Somerfield's director of business systems.

He said the deal would help Somerfield cut costs, reduce risks, and provide it with access to a wider breadth of knowledge and experience.

TCS has agreed to meet the retailer's existing service level agreements, with additional targets for improvement by March next year.

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