BT and KPMG announce £62 million outsourcing agreement

BT today announced a £62 million, five-year outsourcing agreement with KPMG practices in the UK and Germany – which together form KPMG Europe LLP, the largest integrated accountancy firm in Europe.

It is a deal that will deliver significant operating cost savings to KPMG businesses and a transformed technology architecture on which to build value added services, targeted to improve productivity for its employees.

BT will assume delivery responsibility for services that include Wide Area Network (WAN), Local Area Network (LAN) refresh and management, deployment of Cisco IP Telephony, integration with an existing Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) platform, provision of managed video and audio conferencing, provision of fixed voice and management of existing Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM) telephony in the pre-transformed state.

A central part of BT’s commitment will be the delivery of a fully converged, IP-based, networked telephony infrastructure. The platform will allow additional countries to join if they wish and is expected to enable KPMG practices to work with greater levels of flexibility and collaboration. Initially, implementation of the agreement will take place in the UK and Germany.

Bryan Clark, the KPMG partner leading the IT infrastructure consolidation, said: “This is an ambitious outsourcing programme and one that will deliver significant benefits to both our cost base and our effectiveness in serving our Clients. This deal will also assist and support our ambitious expansion plans. Having a consistent infrastructure platform and service model will help facilitate the integration of additional KPMG firms joining our newly created European firm.”

“Part of the people proposition which has made us the UK’s ‘Best Big Company To Work For’ is to ensure we have the tools to enable our people to manage their complex and busy schedules – the new technologies this service will deliver will enhance this proposition. I am hugely excited by this development.”

“BT’s strong track record as an outsourcing partner, deep expertise in network and IT services and experience in managing complex global contracts were key factors in making this investment decision.”

Tim Smart, CEO, BT Global Services UK, said: “This is a major network outsourcing deal for BT and underlines both the importance of this market to us and our ability to meet the needs of the biggest global organisations. This deal further demonstrates the expansion of BT’s partnering approach in Europe and globally. Our clients are increasingly looking to us to run their non-core business processes and assets. We are committed to deliver both service level and bottom line improvements to our clients. We are delighted that KPMG, a world class professional services company, has chosen us as a business partner.”

“In a sector that is heavily regulated and data driven, the ability to rely fully on its communications partner is vital for KPMG. What’s more, with employees working across multiple sites across Europe including thousands in the UK and Germany, KPMG needs a fast and flexible communications network that enables its practices to deliver the best possible service to its own, blue-chip client base. Meeting these needs is our primary focus.”