There’s been yet more good news for Hewlett-Packard (HP) following the announcement on Friday that troubled telecoms equipment maker Ericsson is to outsource its IT infrastructure to the company as part of its broader strategy to cut costs.
Under the memorandum of understanding (MRU) all personnel at Ericsson Global IT Services will be transferred to HP.
There are between 3,000 and 4,000 people employed in IT and IS (information systems) services in Ericsson worldwide. The company employs in the region of 1,500 people in Clonskeagh, Dun Laoghaire and Athlone.
Speaking to siliconrepublic.com Ericsson spokeswoman, Ava Sparr, said that as this was a global operation, all sites where Ericsson global IT services has operations would be affected.
She added that it was as yet unclear whether staff would remain in the same country, saying this would be clarified in the final agreement.
It’s understood the agreement will involve the running of mainframe and mid-range servers, local area networks (LANs) and the helpdesk.
However, it will not involve the wide area network, which deals with functions such as email and data transfer outside the company or the telephone systems.
In a statement the company said the decision is part of ongoing changes being made within the IT/IS area.
It added: “By outsourcing its IT operation Ericsson expects to substantially reduce the overall IT cost and achieve greater flexibility in adjusting resources and expertise to meet fluctuations in its business and in the industry.”
“IS operation, ie development implementation and management of applications, will not be included in the agreement with HP,” it continued.
The final deal is expected to be inked before the end of this year.
By Suzanne Byrne
