IBM, the world's largest telecommunications company landed a 10-year deal to provide Bharti Airtel's Africa employees with IT services, the Economics Times of India reported Thursday. IBM will provide services to Airtel employees across 16 African countries, including operations in Morocco, Egypt, and Tunisia. The agreement covers IT services in both French and English, towards increasing efficiency. IBM will also work towards implementing a Standard Operating Environment for Airtel's Africa employees. IBM will also be upgrading software for the employees that service Bharti Airtel. The two companies first worked together in 2004. “This agreement enables us to provide the best IT capabilities to our employees with a focus on making innovative mobile solutions available across Africa,” Manoj Kohli, Bharti Airtel's Chief Executive Officer (International) and Joint Managing Director told the Economic Times. The contract was signed in the first quarter of this year, and neither company disclosed the amount of the contract. IBM recently landed a $1.5 billion contract from Bharti Airtel last September to manage IT requirements across Africa. Bharti Airtel is the world's fifth largest telecommunications company. It has 44 million customers in African markets. According to the British Financial Times, the company hopes to be able to accommodate 100 million customers by next year. BM
