High-street chain WHSmith has outsourced the management of technology and communication systems in its shops in a £38m deal with BT Expedite.

Under the terms of the seven-year contract, signed last week, BT's retail technology arm will manage all in-store technology including hardware, software, chip-and-PIN and networking.

It has also committed to installing and managing new electronic point-of-sale (Epos) systems across all WHSmith stores over the course of 2005.

'BT is rolling out this project in a much shorter timeframe than was originally planned,' WHSmith IT director Peter Swann told Computing.

He says that the Epos system implementation is an example of how the deal will allow the retailer's 544 stores and 129 airport and magazine outlets to benefit from new technologies sooner than it could have managed itself.

'This means we can see the return on our investment more quickly,' said Swann.

Expedite will centrally monitor the store network to identify problems before they occur, and prevent any risk of downtime as part of the cost and efficiency benefits of the contract.

'This provides the stores with a high-availability service and allows us to offer better service to our customers,' said Swann.

WHSmith says that the contract will bring strategic gains, simplifying its management and operations costs while providing service continuity.

'As well as shifting the entire service for our store network to one supplier, the main drivers behind the appointment of BT Expedite include the delivery of service standards to stores and to drive cost efficiency,' Swann said.

'These will all contribute towards us ultimately providing our customers with a much better service in our stores.'