IBM and Ferrosan Sign Seven-Year Outsourcing Contract

IBM and Ferrosan A/S, an international consumer and healthcare company based in Denmark, today announced a seven-year strategic agreement for IBM to manage Ferrosan’s information technology (IT) infrastructure.

Ferrosan is an international consumer healthcare company developing, producing and marketing supplements and lifestyle products and medical devices. Ferrosan has approximately 800 employees and is operating in more than 70 countries — with more than 90% of its revenue generated outside Denmark.

In terms of the agreement, IBM will provide Ferrosan with a flexible solution for significant cost savings and will enable Ferrosan to continue to grow and strengthen its position in the healthcare market. The agreement includes a private cloud infrastructure for Ferrosan’s entire IT operations comprising of virtual and physical IBM Power Systems and System x servers, associated software, network, storage and back-up services. Additionally, a Software Platform Management Services solution will be included for the majority of Ferrosan’s 800 employees.

In the past, IT operations were managed separately at each Ferrosan location, which was both expensive and complicated. The IT operation has now been centralized at IBM’s Copenhagen Campus providing Ferrosan with state-of-the-art data center setup including a high level of security.

"We are very pleased to expand our collaboration with IBM. It is crucial for Ferrosan to have a solid partner manage our IT infrastructure. This agreement enables us to work closely with IBM to design the best possible solution for Ferrosan’s organization; a solution that matches our goals and priorities perfectly. The agreement also enables Ferrosan to focus on business development and value-creating solutions based on IBM’s solid IT foundation. Ferrosan looks forward to continuing the good collaboration with IBM," says Frederik Boettger, Director of IT at Ferrosan.

"Ferrosan is a global player in its field with a clear agenda for growth and IBM is well-positioned to meet their future demands," says Sven Kolstrup, Country Executive, IBM Global Technology Services, Denmark. "The flexible and scalable solution covered by this agreement will enable Ferrosan to adjust to the fast-changing demands of a competitive market."

The contract was signed in February 2009 and extends an existing outsourcing agreement signed in 2006.

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