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DnB NOR and EDB Business Partner have signed a framework agreement with a view to extending DnB NOR's existing contracts for centralised IT operations and administration through to July 2009. The partners wish to develop further a long-term collaboration, and this will give DnB NOR access to synergy benefits in the form of savings in IT costs which formed part of the basis for the merger between DnB and Gjensidige NOR. This new part of the overall contractual relationship will represent business volume for EDB of around NOK 2 billion over the period 2006 - 2009.
"By agreeing this new framework with EDB we secure both short-term and long-term benefits, high-quality services and reduced risk", explains Bente A. Landsnes, Group Executive Vice President, IT and Payment Services at DnB NOR.
"This contract is very important for EDB. Signing the agreement with DnB NOR represents an extension with one of our biggest and most important customers. In addition to the commercial significance of this contract, it is also strategically important for us, and will play a significant role in the continuing development of expertise and experience at EDB", comments Endre Rangnes, Group CEO of EDB Business Partner.
The framework agreement confirms that DnB NOR and EDB intend to agree the terms of a final detailed contract by 1 July this year. The final contract will include Unix and mainframe operations, print and distribution services and user support, as well as the development and management of applications services and related consultancy services. The contract is independent of which core system DnB NOR chooses to convert to.
In addition it is expected that, if the parties reach agreement on the detailed terms, EDB will support DnB NOR with the conversion process to integrate the new financial group's IT systems onto a single platform.
The final volume of business represented by the new contract is dependent on detailed negotiations in the areas subject to the framework agreement and the extent to which the contract applies to the conversion process to integrate the former Gjensidige NOR and DnB platforms. However the expanded agreement is provisionally estimated to represent business volume of approximately NOK 2 billion over the term of the contract (2006 to 2009).
EDB currently supplies central operating services for both Gjensidige NOR and DnB under the terms of separate contracts that run to 1 January 2006 and 1 July 2006 respectively. EDB also supplies a range of applications services. The new agreement will replace these contracts and run to 1 July 2009, representing a new five-year period. The current contract between EDB and DnB for distributed services will be considered separately.
"We are very proud of the confidence that DnB NOR has shown in EDB", adds CEO Endre Rangnes. "The imminent conversion process at DnB NOR will place very high demands on stable and secure operations, while at the same time we will be implementing the migration to a new and more cost-effective operating platform. This is a critical process for DnB NOR and its day-to-day operations, and is also necessary for its success in realising the synergies that formed part of the rationale for the merger. DnB NOR's choice of EDB as its collaboration partner demonstrates our expertise and competitiveness", concludes Endre Rangnes.