Mega-deal: British American Tobacco goes Cloud with Deutsche Telekom

TROY, Mich., April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Deutsche Telekom's IT subsidiary T-Systems has been awarded one of the largest cloud deals in the company's history. The landmark seven-year contract is worth more than 160 million Euros. With more than 200 brands in its portfolio, British American Tobacco quality brands are sold in around 180 markets worldwide. It has 45 cigarette factories around the globe and employs over 60,000 people. As a result of this deal, British American Tobacco will buy much of its IT dynamically to increase flexibility at work and to reduce costs.

British American Tobacco uses SAP systems to operate its businesses around the world and is making a significant investment in a consolidation program that will culminate in a single instance of SAP operating in 65 global markets by 2016.

Over a two-year period, British American Tobacco and T-Systems will transition the business software into the cloud so that SAP services will exactly mirror British American Tobacco's cyclical demands and will couple cost to real usage. This will provide British American Tobacco with a competitive edge in a highly dynamic business.

Phil Colman, British American Tobacco's CIO, said: "British American Tobacco is the world's most international tobacco group. It is successfully pursuing a consistent strategy that is building shareholder value. Our IT strategy focuses on a single portfolio of connected applications running on standardised contemporary technology to drive competitive advantage across the business. This agreement with T-Systems will help us to deliver that strategy."

Reinhard Clemens, member of the Deutsche Telekom Board of Management and CEO of T-Systems, said: "This mega-deal proves once again that our customers acknowledge our know-how in transitioning their traditional IT into the cloud and operating it in a safe environment. And I am proud to say that we have developed our cloud skills long before dynamic services became the hype of our industry."

As part of the deal, T-Systems will consolidate ten international British American Tobacco data centers into three global data centres in Europe, Asia and South America.

T-Systems North America
Kurt Ruecke, Marketing and Communications
Tel.: 248-276-3582 (Direct)
Tel.: 248-707-9208 (Mobile)                                                          
E-Mail: [email protected]

About British American Tobacco (British American Tobacco)
British American Tobacco is the world's second largest publicly quoted tobacco group by global market share with brands sold in more than 180 markets. In 2010 its subsidiary companies produced 708 billion cigarettes and employed more than 60,000 people. Leading global brands are Dunhill, Kent, Pall Mall and Lucky Strike.

About Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom is one of the world's leading integrated telecommunications companies with over 129 million mobile customers, 34 million fixed-network lines and approximately 17 million broadband lines (as of December 31, 2011). The Group provides products and services for the fixed network, mobile communications, the Internet and IPTV for consumers, and ICT solutions for business customers and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in around 50 countries and has over 235,000 employees worldwide. The Group generated revenues of EUR 58.7 billion in the 2011 financial year -- more than half of it outside Germany (as of December 31, 2011).

About T-Systems
Drawing on a global infrastructure of data centers and networks, T-Systems operates information and communication technology (ICT) systems for multinational corporations and public sector institutions. T-Systems provides integrated solutions for the networked future of business and society. The company's some 48,200 employees combine industry expertise and ICT innovations to add significant value to customers' core business all over the world.  T-Systems generated revenue of around EUR 9.2 billion in the 2011 financial year.

SOURCE T-Systems