Global technology and consulting firm IBM has signed a 10-year contract to support cellular giant Bharti Airtel's staff across its African operations.
The deal, for an undisclosed amount, was inked in the first quarter of this year and will see IBM provide Bharti Airtel with help-desk and desk-side support to its employees across Africa in French and English.
IBM will also handle the implementation and maintenance of a standard operating environment that must scale to match the growth in Airtel's business. The deal builds on a partnership signed in late 2010, under which IBM will manage the computing technology and services to power Bharti Airtel's mobile communications network.
Airtel has grown from six million customers in 2004, when its relationship with IBM started, to more than 225 million. The cellular provider has more than 44 million customers across 16 African operations and is targeting 100 million by 2015.
Bharti Airtel's international CEO and joint-MD Manoj Kohli says the deal “enables us to provide the best IT capabilities to our employees with a focus of making innovative mobile solutions available across Africa”.
Kohli adds the agreement helps the operator “to focus on delivering innovative products and services and providing a better customer experience”.
Steve Martin, senior VP for IBM's global programme, says IBM will support all of Bharti Airtel's staff across the 16 countries in which the mobile operator has a presence.
The agreement includes looking after desktops, e-mails and back-office systems, as well as having support staff in place at each Airtel office, says Martin. Consolidating Bharti Airtel's help-desks should trim costs and result in improved efficiencies, says IBM.
Growing presence
IBM's deal with Bharti Airtel is part of the company's plan to expand its presence in Africa, where it is focusing on sectors such as telecoms, oil and gas, financial services and the government sector.
The US-based company has had a presence in Africa for more than 50 years and, in the past five years, has invested $300 million in the sub-Saharan region to bolster its presence.
The investment, worth about R2 billion, has gone into data centres, offices, technology training and innovation centres. Its clients include several banks, Safmarine, Gold Fields and South African Breweries, and now Bharti Airtel.
Over the past two years, IBM has accelerated its expansion into Africa and has opened several “strategic” offices. It has a direct presence in more than 20 African countries, including SA, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia, and recently expanded into Senegal and Tanzania.
Share