The Bank of Ireland has selected Microsoft to implement its largest enterprise project to date as part of a multi-million euro deal.
The centralised agreement covers a three-year period and will see the latest enterprise technology being implemented across 600 sites, involving 20,000 users in Ireland and the UK.
The agreement was awarded following an evaluation of operating systems and desktop software by Bank of Ireland.
Over the next three years, over 20,000 users will be licensed for up-to-date versions of Windows XP, Microsoft Office XP, Windows 2000 Server, SQL Server, Exchange Server, Project and Visio.
Microsoft’s Ireland general manager Joe Macri described the win as the largest enterprise agreement to date. “It clearly demonstrates our ability to deliver tailored technology solutions to the enterprise sector. It also demonstrates the value proposition inherent in the Microsoft solution. In a competitive evaluation, Microsoft was selected as offering the strongest return on investment – a crucial factor in the current economic climate.”
The project win comes at a time when most banking and financial IT projects have been put on hold and as a result warehouses are reported to be full of unused PCs and servers gathering dust.
Bank of Ireland, which has assets of €53.1bn and employs over 18,438 people worldwide, says the agreement builds on an existing relationship with Microsoft. The bank’s CIO Cyril Dunne says: “Microsoft has proven to be a committed and flexible partner throughout the last few months and we are pleased that we have reached an agreement that fulfils our needs. Technology is a key enabler in all our work and it is essential that we have a flexible and trustworthy IT environment in place.”
Dunne added that the contract, described more as a partnership, will be implemented over a three-year period.
By John Kennedy
