IBM will enhance SEC Servizi's application and infrastructure offerings so they can more quickly respond to the competitive and fast-changing demands of the banking and financial services market.

Under the seven-year strategic agreement, SEC Servizi, a consortium of Italian banks, will use IBM's advanced data center infrastructure services to provide SEC Servizi and its bank clients access to resources such as software platforms and a standardized IT infrastructure. The move is expected to allow SEC Servizi to achieve 20% annual cost savings.

IBM's IT and services expertise will also be available to SEC Servizi's customers to improve their IT infrastructure performance, while SEC Servizi is assured of industry-leading development and maintenance of their applications.

"SEC Servizi, as a consortium that provides specialized IT application services to financial companies, has always focused on linking reliability and innovation with efficiency and effectiveness," says Samuele Sorato, SEC Servizi President. "The agreement with IBM, will not only allow us to reinforce our strengths in banking and financial services, but we will also be able to grow our business, developing new services for our customers."

The two companies will also jointly develop broader and more innovative offerings for banking and financial services. These new services will be offered at competitive pricing to financial services companies, which are increasingly moving to outsourcing the development and management of their non-core processes.

"Financial services customers require specialized, secure and flexible services more than ever before," says Cesare Bollini, Director of Financial Services Sector IBM Italy. "Continuous investments in innovation allow IBM to create a new generation of solutions and IT services for all the companies that, like SEC Servizi, want to answer quickly and effectively to new market opportunities and challenges."