European expansion spurs Uniq/Atos deal

Convenience food group Uniq has signed a seven-year multi-million-pound outsourcing deal with Atos Origin to help support its growing business.

The group, formerly known as Unigate, has called in external support because its business has changed strategic direction towards a pan-European rather than just a UK focus.

Atos will be responsible for the day-to-day management of Uniq's predominantly SAP-based supply chain infrastructure, as well as traditional IT services and support for its RS/6000 datacentre.

As part of the deal, Atos will also maintain food production systems, helpdesk, telephone and data networks, and assist with forthcoming ecommerce projects and systems development.

Uniq's IT director, Hugues de Maussion, says acquisitions and structural changes made it necessary to outsource technology support. He believes it will help the company become the leader in its field and allow more efficient provision of technology.

"Our group has drastically changed its identity from when it was Unigate. Uniq is a very different group.

"We have different businesses and focus. Instead of being a purely UK national, we are now a pan-European network. Because we have acquired companies, the old IT department was not capable of covering that geography," he said.

"We decided that outsourcing would be economical. We undertook a very rigorous evaluation process and decided who met our requirements. It was a very comprehensive study of the marketplace."

Just over half of Uniq's IT employees will transfer to Swindon to work more closely with Atos in supporting its datacentre. No jobs were lost in the outsourcing agreement, and the relocations were completed seamlessly, says De Maussion.

The length of the deal is unusual in the IT industry, given the current economic climate, but Uniq says it is confident the consultation process before signing was robust enough to guarantee a successful partnership.