Royal Mail in cloud computing alliance with Capgemini

Royal Mail Group Limited (RMG), the national postal service of the United Kingdom, has signed a six-year cloud computing contract with Capgemini UK plc. The deal aims to transform RMG’s business and consumer online services, help to reduce its annual website IT costs and support expansion and diversification into a wide range of new web-based business opportunities without the delays and expense of traditional IT.

With cloud computing systems can be quickly and easily reconfigured to support RMG in launching new business ventures and bringing new services to market as quickly as possible. Areas seen as strong candidates for expansion and diversification at RMG include services for personal and small or medium business customers, and high-quality, innovative parcel delivery services to meet the needs of the UK’s boom in online shopping. The new technology will also empower RMG to keep pace with the emerging technologies and media being adopted by today’s consumers.

Stuart Curley, Chief Technology Architect of RMG said: “This contract is great news for our business, our customers and our employees. Once the migration is complete, we will be paying for the IT we need as and when we need it, so that we can for the first time bring our IT costs firmly in line with revenues. Capgemini’s services integrator and ecosystem model can also provide access via a single point of contact to a wide range of reliable and pre-vetted IT providers, services and facilities. I am confident that this new way to buy IT also gives us a sound basis for cutting our ongoing IT cost while transforming services to customers and supporting new business ventures.”

Capgemini won the contract against competitive bids on the strength of its innovative and creative approach and ability to meet RMG’s security requirements and complex, dynamic business needs.

The deal centres on Capgemini’s Infostructure Transformation Services (ITS) and on Capgemini Immediate, its best of breed cloud computing solution. ITS is a Capgemini global service line which enables clients to address the fundamental design, build and running of their informational structure, or ‘infostructure’. Capgemini Immediate enables an ‘ecosystem’ of third party IT suppliers to provide services seamlessly within the overall solution, with Capgemini acting as services integrator and prime contractor. It also enables the ecosystem to evolve rapidly as RMG’s business develops in the future. Cloud computing removes the need for big investment in new hardware and software licences and allows services to be added or changed in days or weeks rather than the months or years typical of conventional IT. It reduces technology selection risk enabling IT solutions to be explored at high speed and low cost on a pilot basis before selecting the best solution roll-out.

Christine Hodgson, Senior Vice President at Capgemini and Member of the Group Executive Committee, said: “This important contract at RMG marks a coming-of-age for cloud computing in the UK and gives us the opportunity to show what this exciting new technology can do in terms of speed, cost-effectiveness, scalability and flexibility. We look forward to working with RMG to support its move into new and exciting areas of business.”