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Story URL: http://hardware.silicon.com/desktops/0,39024645,39123370,00.htm

Barclays in €34m IT services deal with Getronics
Long-time friend of UK bank

By Tony Hallett

Published: Monday 23 August 2004

Barclays Bank has handed a €34m, two-year contract for desktop and network services to Getronics.

The deal is a top-up on a 16-year relationship between the Dutch IT services company and the UK bank. It covers 100,000 devices across UK branches and Barclays' head office.

Barclays is a major customer of Dell's, for PCs, and Getronics is also one of Dell's main partners.

In a statement, Barclays said it chose Getronics for flexibility the ability to "provide the service without any interruption to day-to-day operations".

In a research note out this morning, Ovum Holway analyst Kate Hanaghan called the contract a "vitally important element of the company's strategy for continued growth in its managed services business" and "a good sign that the company is managing to retain customers".

The Getronics deal sits next to a £350m, seven-year desktop contract Barclays signed with EDS last summer. A Barclays spokesman said the difference is that EDS will not be looking after branch desktops. Otherwise there will be some overlap.

Last year, silicon.com exclusively revealed Barclays would be using Accenture for outsourcing in a deal which sees some work being carried out in India. Accenture beat IBM to that contract, worth over £400m.