Threshers toasts £8m outsourcing deal

Drinks retailer hopes offshoring will save £1m a year

threshers tops up outsourcing deal

Drinks retailer Threshers has signed a five-year, £8m outsourcing deal to offshore its central IT systems, support and core applications management.

IT services firm Xansa will provide applications management, operations and hosting for Threshers' SAP, Websphere and Business Objects applications, as well as hosting its merchandising applications.

The deal includes support for more than 300 head office staff and is expected to save it £1m a year.

‘The retail sector is probably one of the most competitive sectors to be in,’ said Threshers' chief financial officer Harvey Ainley. ‘This contract will allow us to drastically reduce the total cost of ownership of our IT infrastructure with provision for a flexible pricing model.

‘We chose Xansa because of the quality of its offshore capabilities and its ability to offer a complete support model.’

Xansa will work with hosting company BSG and IT support services provider Phoenix to deliver the service when it begins in May, 2007. IT support for all Threshers head office staff will be delivered from Noida in India.