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IBM has signed a $1.3 billion deal with Dexia Group to build and manage the European financial services company’s IT infrastructure.
The long-term agreement is with Dexia and several major financial institutions in Europe to build and manage their IT infrastructure previously managed by Associated Dexia Technology Services (ADTS). And as a result of this agreement, IBM takes a controlling share in ADTS establishing an IBM company, renamed as Innovative Solutions for Finance (ISFF), with signed sourcing contracts at a total value of $1.3 billion over seven years.
With this agreement, IBM will implement a cloud infrastructure to expand ISFF services into new markets and optimize the efficiency of its existing information technology management. Associated Dexia Technology Services was founded in 2006 to deliver IT services to financial institutions formerly within the Dexia Group, such as Belfius Bank, Belfius Insurance and Banque Internationale à Luxembourg.
“Since 2006 Dexia has shouldered and encouraged the development of ADTS providing quality service for various entities formerly within the group,” said Karel De Boeck, CEO of Dexia Group, in a statement. “After a long and careful selection process, Dexia has chosen a strong partner endorsing a new industrial future for the company and its employees. At the same time, this agreement is yet another significant step forward in the Group’s orderly resolution.”
The agreement enables Dexia and the ISFF clients formerly within the Dexia Group to segregate themselves as customers and pursue their own business and IT investment strategies. IBM will leverage its market and technological expertise, as well as research capabilities to transform the IT infrastructure of these institutions, the company said.
IBM said the new cloud-based infrastructure will deliver benefits for each financial institution, including fast access to new and innovative services that meet growing demand in Europe. The private cloud environment will enhance risk management, improve service delivery levels and reduce operating cost.
“Our integrated transformational approach, the introduction of new and innovative technologies and solutions, like cloud and analytics and our expertise in the financial sector will enable these customers to differentiate themselves in an accelerated way versus their competitors in their respective markets,” said Bart van den Daele, general manager of strategic outsourcing for IBM Europe, in a statement.
IBM has been building up its expertise in banking and financial services, and investing in delivering technology into emerging markets. Last month, IBM announced that the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) selected an IBM managed security services solution to ensure protection of its information systems infrastructure and customer data. Using predictive analytics technology, the solution will help anticipate and mitigate threats and any possible breaches.
IBM Inks $1.3B Deal to Build and Manage Dexia’s IT
The IBM-managed security services will facilitate around-the-clock monitoring and alerts to investigate and escalate incidents effectively while delivering threat assessments of the severity of potential issues and enabling optimization software to enhance the information security levels for ADDED.
“With the increasing shift to digital technologies and the proliferation of digital data, the security of information and electronic systems became an increasingly crucial issue for individuals as well as organizations and government bodies,” said HE Ghanem Al Fandi Al Mazrouei, the executive director of the Support Services Sector of the Department of Economic Development, in a statement. “The protection of confidential information and data from clients and partners of the Department of Economic Development is one of our important priorities, so we engaged with IBM to ensure a higher level of security and improve services provided for our strategic partners.”
The Department of Economic Development represented by Abu Dhabi Business Center, cooperates with more than 40 local and federal government entities to provide services for business owners, allowing them to establish, run and develop their organizations. Previously, owners often had to visit different entities to start their businesses. To efficiently support its customers, the department wanted to build a single point of contact and a more efficient system. This however created the challenge of managing vast amounts of data from multiple sources and ensuring confidentiality and compliance with government security regulations.
To achieve its goals, ADDED collaborated with IBM to design, build and operate a managed security services solution that will enable the department to consolidate data from all related systems and devices, delivering high visibility of security incidents. ADDED will leverage IBM’s developed infrastructure, experience and expertise to monitor its security environment. IBM’s technical support services team will also provide a round-the-clock maintenance services and onsite support.
“Security threats and targeted attacks are on the increase in the region and globally,” said Amr Refaat, general manager of IBM Middle East and Pakistan. “Therefore it is important for organizations to take a proactive approach to protect their infrastructure and information. IBM’s security solution for ADDED is an excellent example of how organizations can improve their IT security in ways that not only allow innovation but help accelerate it.”
IBM will leverage its X-Force Protection System managed security services infrastructure to assist analysts with the aggregation, correlation, analysis and prioritization of security logs and events. IBM will also use its Q1Radar security solution, which gathers information from multiple sources and using analytics identifies potential threats and breaches.