Unilever signs £10.5m firewall deal

Consumer goods manufacturer Unilever has signed a six-year outsourcing deal with BT Global Services for the provision of a global managed firewall service.

The £10.5m deal, will see BT assume full management responsibilities for 256 firewalls across 68 countries and transform the regionally managed model into a single international structure.

The contract brings the firewall service in line with the rest of Unilever’s networked IT services, also handled by BT Global Services. Unilever has extended its original seven-year service contract until 2012.

Unilever chief information officer Neil Cameron says outsourcing services lets the company focus on its core business.

‘We want to focus on what we are good at and leave services such as IT management to those that understand it better,’ he said. ‘BT is providing expertise while bringing down the cost in real terms.’

Gartner research director Scott Morrison says Unilever’s focus has shifted from the bottom line to added value. ‘There will certainly be cost savings over the lifetime of the contract, but it is more about getting better value from BT,’ he said.

‘It is looking for BT to do the job better and provide improved security, a more proactive response to firewall management and ensure security is up to date.’

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