Nordea will outsource its majority of IBM Z infrastructure services in five countries to access latest technology advancements, such as cognitive services and maintain sustainable IBM Z organization.

The current deal is based on Nordea and IBM relationship, which started in 2003.

As per terms of the deal, a group of Nordea employees will be shifted to IBM.

IBM said the managed services contract is based on an active relationship between the two firms and it differs from earlier mainframe contract. It enables to enter into a service level agreement based on first-hand experience of running the Nordea mainframe.

IBM Global Technology Services senior vice president Martin Jetter said: “As we continue to grow our long-standing relationship with Nordea, we are looking forward to working with them to drive their digital progress with IBM Services.

“Our latest agreement will help Nordea accelerate its leadership as one of the largest financial services organizations in the Nordics and provide a solid path to bringing new efficiencies in their digital transformation.”

IBM Services designs, builds and manages foundational systems for various clients, including airlines, mobile operators, automobile manufacturers, retailers, banks and insurance companies.

In December 2018, Thought Machine, a UK-based software firm, selected IBM Services as the global preferred implementation partner for its cloud-native core banking platform, Vault.

Thought Machine has developed Vault core banking platform for traditional banks with legacy systems and business constraints to better serve their customers and regulators.

Vault cloud native core banking system will enable banks to completely avail the benefits of all clouds including the IBM Cloud.

IBM Services, which is the professional services unit of IBM, includes two divisions such as IBM Global Business Services and IBM Global Technology Services.

IBM Global Business Services offers management and strategy consulting, systems integration, and application management services, while IBM Global Technology Services provides information technology services for clients across the world.