Zurich Financial Services is outsourcing its global IT operations to Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) under a seven year deal worth approximately $1.3 bn.
Zurich said in June it was negotiating a multi-year IT applications outsourcing agreement with CSC.
Under the contract, CSC will provide Zurich with a range of applications development and maintenance services in the US, UK, Switzerland and Germany.
Approximately 1600 Zurich employees will transfer to CSC. Staff in the US, UK and Switzerland are expected to move over in the fourth quarter 2004, while employees in Germany will transfer during the second half of 2005.
Michael Paravicini, chief IT officer at Zurich Financial Services, adds: "This agreement will introduce new efficiencies in applications service delivery and help us direct the right resources to the right business priorities when and where we need them."
The deal is part of Zurich's plan to consolidate and streamline IT services throughout the group, which was announced in May. Under the initiative, Zurich has consolidated several global data centers into just two - one for servicing the US and one for the whole of Europe. The company has also outsourced the provision of its data and voice networking in seven European countries to Equant and has contracted with IBM for desktop services in Europe, the US and Canada.