The Kaz Group has announced a managed services deal with UK-based solutions provider, Exel, across its Australian and New Zealand operations.
Kaz managing director of technology services, Andrew Richardson, was unable to disclose the exact value but described the win as a "multi-million dollar contract".
"This is bread and butter business for the old and the new [Telstra-owned] Kaz," he said.
The three-year contract involves Kaz hosting and supporting Exel's IT mission critical infrastructure for operations that will be relocated to a Kaz data centre in Sydney. The software, which Kaz will maintain, is an application tool-set based on IBM 690 servers.
"Exel still own the applications but we provide the high availability operating platform," Richardson said. "The infrastructure is a combination of their existing hardware and new hardware.
"I think it's interesting that an organisation like Exel, which is a world class outsourcer, is applying its own logic to itself."
Exel provides supply chain management services across the globe and locally employs 1300 staff across 27 sites. Its services include logistics design, freight forwarding, warehousing and e-commerce support.
Exel chief information officer for A/NZ, Todd Brogan, said the flexibility inherent in outsourcing allowed IT infrastructure to keep pace with the rapid business growth strategy of his company.
Richardson said selective outsourcing gave companies the ability to get on with their core competencies while leaving the headache of managing IT architecture to the specialists.
"Selective outsourcing is the undeniably the major trend now," he said.