India's state-run Canara Bank has awarded a branch automation contract, worth Rs2.15bn ($49.4m), to a joint tender from IBM and i-flex solutions.
In January, the bank was down to a shortlist of three vendors - Infosys Technologies, i-flex solutions and Hewlett Packard - for the contract.
The shortlist consisted of i-flex's Flexcube product implemented on IBM hardware, Infosys' core banking technology Finacle deployed by Indian IT services firm Wipro, and a system supplied by Hewlett Packard.
Bank chairman MBN Rao has now told reporters that IBM will supply hardware worth Rs1bn and run the bank's data centre, while i-flex will provide software and services for an automation project which would last eight years in total.
Rao says more than 1000 of the bank's 2500 branches will be linked to the i-flex platform within 13 months and the bulk of the spending would be during this period.
The bank says around 85% of the bank's business will be covered by the automation project.
I-flex said earlier this week that its technology partnership with IBM remained intact after Oracle released details of a $909m plan to acquire up to 61% of the company.