HCL Tech bags IT deal from New Zealand's Fonterra Co-operative

IT services major HCL Technologies on Tuesday said it has bagged a new large contract with New Zealand dairy co-operative, Fonterra to modernise and manage its entire technology infrastructure.

The multi-year partnership with HCL Technologies will consolidate Fonterra's technology suppliers and bring together the co-operative's IT infrastructure services under one umbrella, HCL Technologies said in a statement.

It, however, did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

"This partnership will also extend HCL's New Zealand presence to three offices within the country and will bring around 60 new jobs to the Waikato region as the local support services for Fonterra employees will be based at its Hamilton Delivery centre," the statement said.

The partnership will reinforce HCL's focus in supporting the local New Zealand IT ecosystem by investing in local skills and partnering with regional companies and tertiary education groups to develop the local expertise to fill these roles over the coming years.

"We have been supporting Fonterra for over a decade by managing its IT application support and maintenance portfolio including SAP. We are delighted to expand our partnership with Fonterra to modernise and manage the entire technology infrastructure," HCL Technologies Executive Vice President and Country Manager, (Australia and New Zealand) Michael Horton said.

He added that the deal will enable the company to further support both Fonterra's business strategy as well as the agri-tech sector overall in the region.

"Through our partnership with HCL, we are consolidating our external IT suppliers and through this, we expect to make significant savings relative to our existing infrastructure IT spend over the next five years," Fonterra Chief Information Officer Piers Shore said.

Additionally, this partnership will enable the company to improve its cyber security framework and strengthen critical IT foundation, Shore added.