IN A major outsourcing move, Safmarine Container Lines and IBM have signed a 10-year agreement for the computer company to take over the shipping line’s information technology (IT) infrastructure. The contract is one of IBM’s largest ever deals in SA and will strengthen its services capability in the country. Under the agreement, IBM will run Safmarine’s data centre operations in SA, providing disaster recovery services and managing server, storage and desktop systems while also managing some of these services in Belgium. According to information released to FTW by Safmarine CEO Ivan Heesom-Green, the company will transfer its IT assets and resources to IBM – including the 159 highly-skilled people currently employed by the line. This, said Mark Harris, MD of IBM SA, will expand his company’s market presence in the Western Cape, significantly increase its local employee numbers, and “enhance our capability to offer IT and application services support to customers locally and throughout Africa”. Implementation of the agreement is subject to approval by the SA Competition Commission.
