Barclays signs €200m desktop deal

Barclays has signed a €200m, five-year deal which will see IT services company Getronics providing desktop and application management support to more than 30,000 users at the bank.

Getronics will provide services including workspace management, technology transformation and application services under the five-year contract which starts this month.

It said the contract - the largest it has signed with a bank - will be serviced primarily out of the UK but involving support from its Hungarian and Spanish operations.

Barclays COO Paul Idzik said that as part of its continuous assessment of IT support to "meet the changing needs of our business" the bank has reviewed its supplier arrangements.

Idzik said in a statement: "Getronics was a logical choice due to its 18-year track record with Barclays and its validated positive experience with transitioning and supporting other clients in the financial services sector.

"Getronics' workspace and application management services provide us with the support and flexibility we need to continue to evolve and optimise our IT environment cost effectively."

The project will be rolled out in two phases. The first will focus on the transition of current technology and business practices, followed by the installation and integration of new technology in order to improve the efficiency of the workspace management system.

Last summer the services company bagged an €8m deal with the bank to replace existing behind-the-counter technology in its branches with 7,000 new PCs.