Arcot, a Sun iForce partner, is providing its e-payments authentication software, TransFort, to facilitate implementation of SecureCode onto the servers. The hosted service, offered to issuing members worldwide, enables MasterCard and Maestro issuers to protect confidential cardholder data over the Internet, providing cardholder authentication and an enhanced payment guarantee.

MasterCard SecureCode runs on several Sun Fire V880 servers for database management and more than a dozen Sun Fire 280R servers to run the Sun ONE software suite. A second phase for several more Sun Fire V880 servers is being planned to address growing demand for the service, says the vendor.

Seperately, BT has won a new contract to help Visa EU to manage its portfolio of IT projects, internal services and resources.

Under the agreement, BT will deploy Niku Corporation's IT management system, Niku 6, across Visa's entire European IT department, which is headquartered in the UK. The phased implementation was completed at the end of August.

The system will be used to manage all IT projects, internal support services, offshore development and outsourced supplier relationships, from planning and resourcing key milestones to reporting and invoicing. It will also be used to monitor performance, helping to ensure projects and services are delivered on time and to budget.

Barry Perrins, resource manager at Visa EU, says: "Having a dashboard view of all projects, programmes and initiatives will provide invaluable insight for the management team, enabling us to answer critical questions such as: Should we be doing this project? If so, what business benefits and returns should we expect, and in what timeframe? What milestones will determine whether the project is still on track?"