| Telenor enters into Nordic agreement with EDB |
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(Oslo, 19 April 2007) Telenor has entered into a 10-year framework agreement with EDB for the delivery of IT services to the company's activities in the Nordic countries. The agreement provides the foundation for a long-term IT partnership between the two companies. The Nordic framework agreement includes specific contracts agreed between EDB and Telenor representing total contract value of NOK 500 million.
"The framework agreement with Telenor strengthens EDB's position as one of the leading IT suppliers in the Nordic market. Expanding our collaboration with Telenor from Norway to cover the entire Nordic region will give EDB unique expertise that will increase our competitiveness and help ensure that we are well positioned to compete for new contracts in the future", comments Endre Rangnes, CEO of EDB.
Operating services for PC platform and mobile activities
Telenor has saved NOK 500 million in annual IT costs
This agreement is a new and important step in Telenor's and EDB's work on developing cost efficient, simpler and more focused IT deliveries for Telenor. EDB and Telenor entered into an extensive agreement three years ago which involved EDB taking over responsibility for IT operations for Telenor's Norwegian activities. One of the objectives was to improve the efficiency of the group's IT operations so that Telenor could achieve significant cost savings. Through its IT operations agreement with EDB and a number of other measures, Telenor has reduced its annual IT costs by more than NOK 500 million over this period.
"The agreement with EDB is a good and right choice for Telenor. EDB's deliveries give us the opportunity to better focus our IT resources on strategic management and on using IT to further strengthen Telenor's competitiveness. We have accumulated expertise and experience together with EDB that we can now apply throughout our Nordic activities", comments Kjersti Wiklund, Head of Telenor's IS Division.
"We are delighted with the confidence Telenor has shown in us by expanding our already extensive collaboration. This confirms EDB's strength and ability as a cost efficient and reliable supplier to major Nordic and international businesses", comments Endre Rangnes.
EDB's new agreements with Telenor
10-year framework agreement: EDB and Telenor have entered into a 10-year framework agreement for deliveries of IT services to Telenor. The agreement covers matters such as the terms for future contracts between the two companies. The framework agreement also envisages a broader collaboration between EDB and Telenor in the Nordic market over future years, both in terms of products and sales.
Nordic PC platform: EDB and Telenor have signed an agreement for EDB to develop and operate a common PC platform - "Nordic desktop" - for Telenor's activities in the Nordic countries. This involves EDB taking on responsibility for around 5,000 workstations in Telenor's Nordic activities outside Norway. "Nordic desktop" will allow all Telenor's Nordic employees to work on the same IT platform. Telenor will achieve better processes and workflow between colleagues in different countries, more efficient procedures, quicker roll-out of new systems across the Nordic countries and simpler and more unified system updates. Through this standardisation, the platform will also pave the way for major savings on IT costs for Telenor.
IT operating services for Telenor Mobile in Sweden: EDB and Telenor Sverige AB signed a letter of intent earlier this year to give EDB responsibility for IT operations for Telenor's mobile business in Sweden. The agreement represents total contract value of around NOK 300 million over five years. The parties have now signed a final agreement for this delivery. EDB takes on responsibility for Telenor Mobile's IT production in Sweden, including applications operations and monitoring. In total, the agreement comprises operating services for more than 400 servers and over 100 applications, as well as data storage and back-up solutions.
Network services: EDB has agreed to transfer part its activities in respect of network components to Telenor. This transfer is part of the two companies' work on streamlining their respective delivery models for the Nordic countries. Telenor will take on a small number of employees from EDB as a result of this transfer.
Great potential for other major businesses
"The experience gained from EDB's delivery model for Telenor shows that there is also great potential for other Nordic businesses to do the same. We look forward to using our experience to work with other Nordic and international customers in the future", comments Endre Rangnes.
Any questions may be addressed to:
Endre Rangnes, CEO. Tel: + 47 22 52 80 80
Jan Erik Larsen, EVP - Telecommunications. Tel: +47 922 67 676
Geir Remman, EVP - Corporate Communications. Tel: +47 970 55 017
About EDB
EDB Business Partner is a leading stock exchange listed IT group for the Nordic region. The group has 3,800 employees, and reported turnover of NOK 5.8 billion in 2006. EDB delivers solutions that cover the entire range of business critical IT services from application services and industry-specific solutions through to IT operating services and network solutions. EDB is committed to being a close and attentive IT partner that helps its customers operate more efficiently and achieve their business objectives. EDB Business Partner is listed on Oslo Børs with the ticker code: EDBASA.
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