IBM, TSYS Sign $194M Technology Pact

IBM on Wednesday will announce a five-year, $194 million deal to provide TSYS, the largest processor of retail accounts in the United States, with its next-generation technology infrastructure.

The terms of the deal call for the Armonk, N.Y., company to provide TSYS with hardware, software, maintenance and services. This includes eServer ZSeries mainframe processors, the TotalStorage 3494 Automated Tape Library and TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Servers, currently code-named “Shark,” an IBM spokesman told eWEEK.

TSYS, based in Columbus, Ga., is one of the worlds largest payment services companies and will deploy the new systems globally. That will allow the company to control operating expenses while significantly increasing transaction volumes, the spokesman said.

As a result, TSYS will reduce its server numbers by 35 percent and significantly increase data processing power. Once the implementation is complete, TSYS will rank among IBMs 25 highest capacity clients in the United States and among the top 50 worldwide, the spokesman said.

IBM said TSYS will also buy its complete portfolio of e-infrastructure software, including DB2 database software, Content Manager, Lotus, Tivoli and WebSphere Application Server.

IBM Global Services will support the implementation of the software as well as the training of TSYS staff, while all the software, hardware and services will be financed through IBM Global Financing, he said.

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