Alma Media outsources basic ICT functions to Fujitsu

ALMA MEDIA CORPORATION         STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 2.9.2004, 13.30

 

ALMA MEDIA OUTSOURCES BASIC ICT FUNCTIONS TO FUJITSU

 

Alma Media Corporation and Fujitsu Services Oy have provisionally agreed that from the beginning of December Fujitsu will manage and support most of Alma Media’s information technology functions. The agreement does not cover the applications and application experts critical to Alma Media’s core businesses. The deal will have no impact on Alma Media’s 2004 result.

 

Alma Media Corporation and Fujitsu Services Oy have today signed a memorandum of intent under which Alma Media will outsource its ICT workstation and availability services in the Helsinki and Pirkanmaa (Tampere) regions to Fujitsu. The agreement covers support for approximately 2000 workstations and operating services for 250 servers. It will also mean the transfer from Alma Media to Fujitsu of an estimated 26 IT professionals, most of whom currently work in MTV Oy, Aamulehti, Kauppalehti, Iltalehti and Alma Media Interactive. The agreement will have no impact on Alma Media Group’s result for the current year.

 

Alma Media’s aim through this outsourcing agreement is to seek long-term benefits, according to Raimo Mäkilä, head of ICT functions. “Alma Media’s core business is content production and the provision of various content services to customers. Outsourcing our basic ICT infrastructure allows us to concentrate more clearly on our main business interests, while ensuring that ICT functions are available in all circumstances and that we always have the very latest technology at our disposal,” he states. “This arrangement does not apply to the applications critical to our operations, or to the personnel responsible for their maintenance and development.”

 

“Our intention is to ensure a continued high level of expertise, better allocation of resources, and more effective risk and cost management,” Mäkilä adds. The choice of Fujitsu as Alma Media’s partner, he says, is their strong track record of similar successfully implemented outsourcing projects. “I believe this solution will be a great success for both Alma Media and Fujitsu, and for our ICT employees who will join Fujitsu.”