IBM To Manage and Develop Royal and SunAlliance UK's IT Infrastructure in 10-Year Agreement; Strategic Alliance To Promote e-business Technology.Business/Technology Editors NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 13, 2001 Royal & SunAlliance UK, one of the leading insurance companies in the UK, today announced that it has entered into a strategic alliance with IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) that will deliver major benefits in terms of improved IT support and greater efficiency. The 10-year contract covers the management and development of Royal & SunAlliance's IT infrastructure in the UK, which includes mainframe, mid-range
Working with IBM Global Services IBM Global Services is the world's largest business and technology services provider. It is the fastest growing part of IBM, with over 190,000 professionals serving customers in more than 160 countries. , Royal & SunAlliance UK will create a world-class IT infrastructure, helping the company achieve competitive advantage in a number of areas including state of the art e-business technologies. The new relationship will deliver significantly improved resilience resilience (r  ·zilˑ·yens),n and stability to R&SA's UK IT infrastructure, providing enhanced support for R&SA's existing operations and the development of new lines of business in the future. Royal & SunAlliance and IBM will jointly invest in the creation of an Innovation and Transformation Centre (ITC ITC (Brit) n abbr (= Independent Television Commission) → Fernseh-Aufsichtsgremium ITC n abbr (BRIT) (= Independent Television Commission) → ) - an initiative that will drive tangible business benefits for R&SA from the application of new technologies. The ITC will allow R&SA to leverage IBM's technological skills, finance sector expertise and research capabilities to quickly produce business improvements and innovation. IBM will also develop R&SA's existing computer center at Lennox Wood near Horsham (West Sussex West Sussex, nonmetropolitan county (1991 pop. 692,800), 768 sq mi (1,990 sq km), S England. A chalk ridge runs from the county's east to west edge. In the south the land flattens into a gentle plain. After early Roman invasions, the Saxons moved across Sussex. ) to include an e-business hosting facility, from which it will manage the Web hosting Making a Web site available on the Internet. Many ISPs host a few personal Web pages for an individual at no additional cost above the monthly service fee, but the address is subordinate to the ISP; for example, www.friendlyisp.com/pat_smith. needs of R&SA as well as other IBM business customers. In early 2002, IBM will begin a two-year program to create one of the most reliable IT infrastructures in the insurance industry, creating significant technology consolidation, including the standardization standardization In industry, the development and application of standards that make it possible to manufacture a large volume of interchangeable parts. Standardization may focus on engineering standards, such as properties of materials, fits and tolerances, and drafting of desktop computing facilities across all R&SA sites in the UK. During 2002, 285 Royal & SunAlliance IT employees, based at a number of key R&SA sites including Liverpool, Horsham, Bristol and Halifax, will transfer to IBM under TUPE TUPE Transfer of Undertakings (employee rights) TUPE Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (UK) TUPE Tupelo National Battlefield (US National Park Service) (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) regulations, protecting their existing employment terms and conditions. R&SA consulted fully with its unions at all stages during the development of the alliance and there are no planned redundancies as a result of this move. As part of the deal, within the next 18 months IBM will establish a multi-client Service Centre in Liverpool. Royal & SunAlliance UK's average annual spending in this area is around (pound)50 million and it is anticipated that in addition to all the significant operational benefits, approximately 10 percent savings will be achieved over the course of the 10-year agreement. Commenting on the new alliance, Paul Spencer, R&SA's UK Chief Executive, said: "I am delighted to announce our strategic alliance with IBM, which is a further development in our close and effective working relationship over the past five years. Together we will be creating a world class IT infrastructure that will provide us with a resilient See resiliency. and flexible framework for our business. Our partnership with IBM will also ensure that we are able to fully harness the potential of the internet and other emerging technologies both now, and in the future, creating a platform from which to develop products to meet the ongoing needs and service expectations of our customers. Focusing on the employees who will transfer to IBM, Mr. Spencer said: "It has been essential to us that our people are looked after in this alliance. We believe they have much to gain by transferring their employment to a company whose core function is the delivery of IT solutions. In particular, they will be afforded greater career opportunities, and the ability to expand their knowledge and expertise with the world's leading IT services company." Frank Kern Kern, river, 155 mi (249 km) long, rising in the S Sierra Nevada Mts., E Calif., and flowing south, then southwest to a reservoir in the extreme southern part of the San Joaquin valley. The river has Isabella Dam as its chief facility. , General Manager of IBM Global Services, Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: "In today's tough economic climate, this agreement represents a strong statement by R&SA that it intends to expand its position as a leader in the insurance industry. This is a powerful alliance of leading players and will transform R&SA's infrastructure by marrying its legacy IT systems with state of the art e-business technologies to deliver innovation and real business advantage." About Royal & SunAlliance Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Group plc is one of the world's largest multinational quoted insurance groups. At the end of 2000 it employed over 50,000 people in operations based in some 50 countries worldwide. Its global capability means that it can transact An earlier e-commerce system for the Web from Open Market that included order capture and secure order fulfillment using credit cards, ecash and other payment systems. It included customer service and subscription administration capabilities as well as an integrated database for reporting business in over 130 countries around the globe. 2000 worldwide premium income exceeded (pound)11.8bn and funds under management exceeded (pound)64bn. For more information, visit: www.royalsun.co.uk. About IBM Global Services IBM Global Services is the world's largest information technology services provider, with approximately 150,000 professionals serving customers in 160 countries and annual revenue of more than $33 billion (2000). IBM Global Services integrates IBM's broad range capabilities - services, hardware, software and research - to help companies of all sizes realize the full value of information technology. For more information, visit: www.ibm.com/services. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion