HCL bags $350mn deal from Reader's Digest

SUNNYVALE, USA: HCL Technologies Ltd (HCL), an IT services provider, today announced that it has entered into a 7 year IT outsourcing services engagement with the Reader’s Digest Association Inc (RDA), a global multi-brand media and marketing company.

The value of the agreement is estimated to be approximately $350 million over a seven-year contract term, said a press release.

The scope of this complex transformational engagement includes applications development and infrastructure support across the applications stack of Oracle Universe, Open Technologies and Mainframe; Infrastructure support for network, security, storage, end-user computing and data centers (DC) including disaster recovery services.

As part of this engagement HCL would also rebuild and migrate RDA’s mainframe environment in its New Jersey Data center facility.

Additionally, HCL would implement cutting-edge tools framework to provide business-aligned, unified, real-time visibility into the health of the IT environment, the release added.

It would significantly leverage HCL’s global delivery and onsite support capabilities by supporting RDA’s operations in 45 countries and 14 languages across North America, Latin America, East and West Europe, and Asia. HCL would also re-badge a number of RDA employees on its rolls.

HCL’s solution to RDA is based upon creation of globally focused business transformation CoEs (Centers of Excellence) for global fulfillment, marketing, digital interactive and shared business services leading to media, publishing and entertainment domain led innovation, it added.

“IT is a key enabler to our business. We expect that HCL will bring down cost of operations significantly, while improving services and bringing cutting-edge technology and capabilities to transform our IT functionality and service,” said Al Perruzza, senior vice president for Global Operations, IT and Business Redesign, RDA.

On the sourcing side, HCL would be taking over several existing IT contracts from RDA and would manage them over the engagement period. This would also involve providing telecom expense management services for its worldwide network through HCL’s ControlPoint solution, the release added.

“RDA partnership is a unique service offering in which HCL blends all its outsourcing strengths - applications and infrastructure capabilities, industry knowledge, and global reach, to help RDA achieve fundamental transformation at the enterprise level,” said Sanjeev Nikore, corporate vice president, HCL Technologies.