HCL Technologies Signs IT Infrastructure Transformation Deal With De Beers

Country's fourth largest software services firm HCL Technologies has bagged a multi-million dollar IT infrastructure transformation deal from the De Beers Group of Companies, the world's leading diamond business, the company said on Wednesday.

Leveraging its Enterprise of Future (EoF) offering, HCL will deliver end-to-end solutions including data centre operations, multi-lingual service desk, LAN management, security services, service management including tools, desk side support and project services to transform De Beers' IT infrastructure across the globe, it said in a statement.

HCL already manages the IT Infrastructure of Anglo American plc, the majority shareholder of De Beers. The current deal allows a tighter integration across the two companies with common technology platforms and IT service management, it said.

"Where we have previously had several service providers in each local region, this agreement affords us more comprehensive management of our underlying IT environment and enables us to run a more industrialised infrastructure service that underpins our broader IT strategy," De Beers Group Group CIO Craig Charlton said.

The engagement involves supporting De Beers' global presence in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and elsewhere around the world, with HCL taking responsibility for eight data centres across five regions.

"This deal marks HCL's continued expansion in emerging markets like South Africa and many locations across Africa, Latin America and Asia. It further strengthens HCL's presence in the mining vertical," HCL Technologies ISD Executive Vice President and Head - EMEA Ashish Gupta said.

The scope of the work includes some extremely remote locations such as offshore diamond mining vessels along the Namibian coastline and Snap Lake mine in Canada, accessible only via ice roads in winter. HCL established its South African operation in 2009.