Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has awarded Telstra a 10 year, A$1 billion managed services contract as it prepares for a major telecommunications network upgrade.
Under the deal, worth A$100 million a year, Telstra will provide a range of telecommunications capabilities and fully managed services to the bank's branches, contact centres, Eftpos network and non-branch ATMs.
Telstra says it will deliver the telecomms and managed services through its Next IP and Next G networks with the aim for the bank of improving customer convenience and accessibility.
Telstra will begin taking on the management of network services from incumbent, New Zealand's Gen-i, from today.
According to local press reports, Gen-i decided not to compete for the contract due to the slim margins on the deal although the Telecom New Zealand unit will continue to work on a range of network services.
Michael Harte, CIO, CBA says the choice of a partner for telecommunication services is a strategic part of the group's network upgrade.
"Our arrangement with Telstra is a partnership which is directly focused on customer satisfaction through well-defined shared goals, commitments and business outcomes," says Harte.
CBA is also in conducting a four year, A$580 million programme to overhaul its legacy core banking systems. Last year the bank recruited consultancy Accenture to oversee the implementation of SAP for Banking, which will replace systems that have been in place for over 45 years.