IBM Signs $1.4 Billion Global Strategic Outsourcing Agreement with AstraZeneca

Armonk, NY (July 16, 2007)-The IBM Corporation signed a $1.4-billion global outsourcing deal with AstraZeneca PLC (London). The seven-year agreement, which renews and expands on a current contract, covers the provision of IT infrastructure services to 60 countries and additional functions within AstraZeneca.

The original agreement was signed in 2001 for a reported $1.7 billion, covering 45 countries. In the renewed contract, IBM will provide a single global technical infrastructure, managing IT services for AstraZeneca such as email and computer operations, storage hosting, and communication services. AstraZeneca, in turn, will manage its overall IT strategy, as it has been doing under the existing contract, as well as the development and support of its application systems.

“This innovative agreement with IBM will enable AstraZeneca to deliver greater value to the business by providing consistent infrastructure services globally, enabling a faster and more efficient rollout of new technology, with improved levels of service,” said Richard Williams, AstraZeneca’s chief information officer, in an IBM media release. “Leveraging IBM’s global delivery capabilities and economies of scale, will allow AstraZeneca to focus its efforts on adding value to its scientific, commercial and supply operations, thereby helping the Company to deliver more medicines that make a meaningful difference to patients. In allowing IBM greater autonomy on methods of delivery, the agreement will result in cost efficiencies when compared with running in-house systems.”

IBM’s Senior Vice President Doug Elix added, “IBM will marshal its global resources to provide a flexible and agile infrastructure enabling AstraZeneca to continue implementing its plans to grow and lead in the pharmaceutical industry. The trust we have built over the past seven years will help IBM and AstraZeneca break new ground in transformational services in the next seven."

IBM is the world’s largest information technology company. AstraZeneca is one of the world’s major pharmaceutical companies. Its products include: “Arimidex” (cancer), “Crestor” (cardiovascular), “Nexium” (gastrointestinal disease), “Seroquel” (schizophrenia), and “Symbicort” (asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).