Marks & Spencer extends Cognizant outsourcing deal

UK retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has expanded its outsourcing relationship with offshore IT service provider Cognizant, which extends a deal signed in 2009.

Cognizant will provide a managed service to M&S to support its applications.

In 2009 Marks & Spencer (M&S) outsourced IT support to Cognizant. On the back of the success of this move, the retailer decided to outsource more of its operations.

Damone Quigley, head of infrastructure and application services at M&S said: "Ever since our relationship began in 2009, both M&S and Cognizant have demonstrated an open, trust-based relationship that has created a strong foundation from which to deliver further efficiencies and achieve more positive outcomes in the coming years."

The contract will help M&S keep up with the changing behaviour of consumers by ensuring technology runs smoothly.

What the deal includes:

• Application support services delivering Level 2/3 support for all applications that support lines of business and are used by end-users at stores, warehouses and head office.
• Remote IT infrastructure management services based on an IT infrastructure library.
• Resolution of incidents and problems to increase system availability and stability.
• Service continuity to ensure all systems have adequate provisions and are ready to cope with any critical outages, ensuring business continuity and operations.
• Operational acceptance testing to ensure high operability across applications, infrastructure and networks.
• Non-production services to ensure environments are available when required for timely delivery of projects.