EDS wins $1 billion contract with German tourism firm

EDS today announced an agreement with KarstadtQuelle AG, Europe’s leading retail and tourism group, to manage the company’s applications and information technology environment for the next eight years. The deal is subject to standard regulatory approval, and has an expected total contract value of approximately $1 billion.

“As a trusted business partner, we look to the EDS team to apply its global knowledge and best practices to help us modernize our application landscape, lower IT costs and manage growth,” said Professor Dr. Helmut Merkel, member of the board of KarstadtQuelle Holding. “EDS’ expertise in our industry and worldwide reach will play a critical role as we achieve our business objectives.”

The agreement’s scope includes IT services for Karstadt’s department stores across Germany and the international mail order businesses of Primondo (Quelle). EDS will develop and maintain KarstadtQuelle’s critical software applications used for running the department stores and supporting its diverse e-commerce activities.

EDS will also manage all third party contracts with regard to the company’s entire IT infrastructure including a communications network that connects all of its locations and sales outlets. Lastly, EDS will manage and provide support to employees for the company’s desktop computers, PDAs, laptops, and printers – more than 15,000 computing devices.