IBM Expands Business Transformation Outsourcing Capability in Europe

IBM Opens New Center in Portugal

LISBON, PORTUGAL - 31 Jul 2006: IBM today announced a new Shared Services Center in Portugal to provide finance and accounting services to clients as part of its global delivery model of business transformation outsourcing (BTO). The Braga center further expands IBM’s global network of more than three dozen BTO delivery centers and will focus on transforming and managing financial processes for clients across Europe.

The center, which opened in Braga in July this year, will help meet the growing demand for multilingual business and technology services. For example, the Braga center will provide services to Unilever with the aim of optimizing process performance and reducing costs for the multinational company, as part of an agreement signed with IBM in 2005. This is IBM’s second center in Portugal. A Shared Services Center in Lisbon manages finance and administration processes for BP’s Refining and Marketing businesses across Portugal, Spain, France and the United Kingdom.

As part of IBM’s globally integrated company strategy, the new center will work closely with IBM’s service delivery centers in Krakow, Poland and Bangalore, India. The Braga and Krakow centers will take on client and vendor relations for Unilever, while transactional services will be managed mainly by IBM’s Bangalore center in India.

“The ability of IBM Portugal to deliver high-value multilingual business process and transformation outsourcing services to clients located throughout Europe has been the key to our continued expansion in the country,” said José Joaquim de Oliveira, Country General Manager, IBM Portugal. “Globally, IBM is focused on amassing the right skills and expertise where they exist to deliver the right services to our clients.”

IBM is employing innovative products and best practices at the Braga center to increase process efficiencies and improve productivity. These best of breed service products will be deployed in Accounts Payable (IBM Data Capture and Imaging Workflow), Travel and Entertainment (Global Expense Reimbursement System) and Bill-to-Cash (ARCollect™ toolsuite). The IBM solutions wrap around the existing Unilever ERP systems, delivering improved quality of information and enhanced transparency and controls to help Unilever drive better business performance.

The investment in Portugal follows other recent strategic investments by IBM worldwide focused on expanding skills and capability on a global basis, especially in fast growing markets. In the past few months, IBM has announced the opening of several new facilities internationally. These include a Systems and Technology laboratory in Russia, an Integrated Delivery Center in South Africa, a center for Remote Infrastructure Management in the Czech Republic and a Business Incubation Center in Ireland. With this new facility in Braga, IBM has the opportunity to tap into the growing talent pool and excellent infrastructure in Portugal.

About IBM Business Transformation Outsourcing -- For more information go to: www-1.ibm.com/services/us/index.wss/bus_serv/bcs/a1005264

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Adam Emery

IBM Media Relations

IBM

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