5m euro Raiffeisen Bank-IBM deal

Raiffeisen Bank Romania has signed a five million-euro deal with IBM Romania for IT out-tasking services. IBM Romania will practically take over the maintenance and security of the “nervous system” (IT&C equipment) across Raiffeisen Bank’s Romanian network. At the same time, the bank will transfer its own IT&C specialists to IBM and its subcontractors. The contract is valid for three years and may be extended. “Banks prefer to handle their IT issues themselves. This is a valid strategy, but we chose out-tasking, which will allow us to focus on banking operations,” said Steven van Groningen, Raiffeisen Bank Romania’s president. Besides the core business focus, another purpose of this out-tasking deal is cost control. Raiffeisen Bank Romania stands out in the domestic banking landscape by perseveringly having transferred non-core operations to specialised companies in its quest for efficiency. Cash transport and processing was entrusted upon Group 4 Falck, ATM network management went to Euronet Worldwide (US) and document management went to Xerox. ZF