IBM today announced that BP, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, awarded it a 5-year contract to manage and run all of the oil giant's enterprise applications and integrated service desk responsibilities. The contract is the largest among multiple awards BP is making as part of a major program to simultaneously simplify business processes and achieve new levels of service quality.

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Over the last 12 months BP initiated a program to consolidate its IT vendors for application development and application maintenance (ADAM) with goals of simplifying its processes, improving service quality and enabling strategic partnership. BP had a rigorous procurement selection process which assessed IBM on capability, Oil and Gas sector knowledge and cost. IBM met these criteria and has demonstrated its ability to support BP's agenda of simplification, standardization and corporate efficiency.

Dana Deasy, BP Group CIO, said: "I've been very pleased with the quality of IBM's proposal and to have selected them as a strategic ADAM vendor for global SAP maintenance and system development centre. We see a significant opportunity to simplify and standardize BP's work processes while leveraging IBM's world class expertise in this area and their strong knowledge of the Oil and Gas industry. This contract will enable BP to reduce complexity, whilst lowering our overall cost base."

IBM Global Business Services will manage the oil giant's SAP applications including enhancements and continuous improvement both at client sites and from IBM's network of global delivery centers.

"IBM is pleased to support BP's enterprise transformation with our globally integrated application management capabilities," said Frank Kern, senior vice president, IBM Global Business Services. "IBM's unmatched breadth of application management resources -- combined with our deep industry expertise -- will drive future growth and opportunity for our valued client."

About BP

BP is one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, serving millions of customers every day in more than 100 countries across six continents. BP's business segments are Exploration and Production; Refining and Marketing; and Alternative Energy, its low-carbon energy business. Through these activities, BP provides fuel for transportation; energy for heat and light; retail services; and petrochemicals products for textiles and packaging.

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SOURCE: IBM