Carlsberg signs four-year Verizon contract for unified comms

Deal will allow 17 European countries to use the same SAP ERP system

Global brewer Carlsberg has signed a contract with Verizon Business to standardise its communications networks across 17 European states including the UK.

The deal, described as "in the tens of millions" by Carlsberg CIO Kenneth Egelund Schmidt, has a four-year tenure and will see the network provider supplant IBM, which had previously worked to integrate local IT networks in half of Carlsberg's European locations.

However, the company will continue to use IBM for the provision of datacentre services.

Verizon will provide its standard MTLS network-based solution across all the countries, delivering a WAN and LAN and enabling a shared voice and data network as well as security.

Schmidt gave reasons for the company choosing Verizon: "We were looking for a standard as opposed to a bespoke solution and we needed a reliable network, one we were sure would work. Verizon was able to provide the business services we needed with its standard product."

The network will allow all 17 countries to use the same SAP ERP system, with the first entry into the shared platform being implemented in early spring.

The company will also begin to roll out Microsoft's Lync Server 2010 and Sharepoint systems, which will allow staff from all over Europe to collaborate and will replace several non-standard email systems that are currently in place.