Safmarine transfers IT assets to IBM
Safmarine Container Lines, part of Denmark’s giant A.P. Moller-Maersk group, has awarded a 10-year contract to IBM South Africa to overhaul the shipping line’s information technology infrastructure.
Under terms of the agreement, Safmarine will transfer its IT assets and resources to IBM, including 159 employees, subject to approval by the South African Competition Commission. IBM will then run Safmarine’s data center operations, provide disaster recovery services, manage server, storage and desktop systems in South Africa as well as manage some of the same services in Safmarine’s corporate headquarters in Antwerp, Belgium.
“Safmarine and IBM have enjoyed a close business relationship for more than 20 years and this agreement takes our relationship to a new level,” said Ivan Heesom-Green, Safmarine’s chief executive officer. “IBM will offer Safmarine competitive, on demand IT services through their economies of scale and, as a long-term business partner, provide for our IT solutions of the future as we continue to expand our core world-wide shipping services.”
IBM purchased Maersk Data, the IT arm of A.P. Moller-Maersk, at the end of 2004.