Bank of Ireland and IBM has announced that they have signed a five-year contract for the future provision of the Group's Information Technology (IT) infrastructure services.  This follows on from the Bank's natural expiration of its current agreement with HP.

Following a competitive bid process with a number of parties, IBM was selected for exclusive contract negotiations in July of this year.  During the intervening period, an extensive due diligence phase has been undertaken and relevant regulatory approval has been granted.

IBM will manage the Group's entire IT infrastructure, including desktop systems, servers, mainframes, local area networks and service desk.

"The signing of this contract marks the culmination of a lengthy process, during which Bank of Ireland assessed a number of potential service providers," according to Larry Kiernan, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Group IT, Bank of Ireland.  "We have now agreed a Group-wide solution for the provision of our IT infrastructure services and, under this agreement, will have access to a wide range of innovative IT solutions.  We will continue to work closely with our existing provider, HP to ensure a smooth transition to IBM," he added.

"IBM offers an outstanding value proposition to clients like Bank of Ireland", said Peter O'Neill, Country General Manager, IBM Ireland. "Bank of Ireland is a great example of an industry leader that focuses on driving strategic value.  IBM brings extensive experience in service delivery across the enterprise supported by world class delivery capabilities and ongoing process and technology investments."