EDS and Altria sign multi-year information technology services agreement.

EDS (NYSE:EDS) has announced an innovative information technology (IT) agreement to support Altria Corporate Services, Inc. in its creation of a new company to handle a range of IT services for Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) and its family of companies. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Under the five-year contract, EDS and the new company--Technology Enterprise Computing Works, LLC (TECWorks), an Altria Corporate Services, Inc. subsidiary--will provide a range of information technology services to a number of Altria affiliates in the Americas. The new subsidiary's objective is to realize a substantial reduction in Altria's IT spending in the Americas.

The approach will leverage EDS', and its consulting subsidiary A.T. Kearney's, combined expertise and intellectual capital to improve the delivery of Altria's IT services, lower overall IT costs, and bring innovation in the use of IT over the life of the contract.

Altria will manage TECWorks, working closely with EDS and A.T. Kearney to improve in-house skills and leverage best practices. The objective is to significantly improve IT shared services, keeping the equipment and people on Altria premises, while leveraging EDS' world-class skills in IT operations and A.T. Kearney's skills in business innovation.

"Technology can deliver competitive advantage in the consumer packaged goods industry," said Scott W. Klein, president of EDS' Consumer Industries and Retail business. "EDS and A.T. Kearney's experience in the consumer marketplace will allow us to leverage our industry knowledge and IT leadership to make TECWorks a creative, efficient, cost-effective means of delivering a wide array of IT to its affiliated consumer packaged goods companies in the Americas. Our goal is to help these companies become the leading users of technology in their industries."

EDS will use its extensive network of alliance and business partners to meet TECWorks' shared services business goals. With the signing of this contract, EDS expands its global leadership in deploying technology for consumer industries and retail industries. Of the top 25 global retailers, 18 are EDS clients and of the top 25 global consumer companies, 18 are EDS clients. More than 4,000 EDS employees provide solutions for consumer industries and retail clients worldwide.