Swiss insurance giant Zurich Financial Services has signed an agreement with IBM to consolidate and manage its workplace IT operations across five European countries, the US and Canada. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Under the contract, approximately 470 Zurich employees will transfer to IBM.
The deal will see Zurich switch to a 'pay per use' system for its desktops, printers and software support.
Michael Paravicini, chief information technology officer, Zurich Financial Services, says: "We expect sizeable efficiency gains through standardized processes and a significant improvement in cost transparency."
He says the agreement is part of Zurich's global IT strategy which aims to consolidate and streamline services throughout the Group.