AstraZeneca takes the outsourcing medicine

IBM signs £700m deal to provide IT infrastructure globally to pharmaceutical giant

AstraZeneca workers will receive improved IT support services

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has signed a $1.4bn (£700m), seven-year global strategic outsourcing agreement with IBM to provide IT infrastructure services to operations in 60 countries.

IBM will provide a single global technical infrastructure, including server and storage hosting, service desks, PC management, network and communications services, including email, and computer operations support.

'Leveraging IBM’s global delivery capabilities and economies of scale, will allow AstraZeneca to focus its efforts on adding value to its scientific, commercial and supply operations, thereby helping the company to deliver more medicines that make a meaningful difference to patients,' said Richard Williams, chief information officer at AstraZeneca.

The firm will retain control of its overall IT strategy and the development and support of its application systems.

The contract will provide consistent infrastructure services globally, enabling faster rollouts of new technology and saving AstraZeneca money when compared with running in-house systems.