Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler signs on Infosys for IT infra redo

Indian top tier information technology (IT) services company Infosys on Tuesday said that it has signed a deal to drive hybrid cloud-powered solutions and IT infrastructure redo, using Cobalt, at German carmaker Daimler.

Post regulatory approval for the deal, Daimler will transform its IT operating model and infrastructure landscape across workplace services, service desk, data centre, networks and SAP Basis together with Infosys, as per a statement. 

The deal with Infosys will enable the company to deepen its focus on software engineering and to establish a fully scalable on-demand digital IT infrastructure and anytime-anywhere workplace, the statement added, without disclosing the financial details. 

According to a Times of India report citing sources, the Bengaluru-headquartered company has signed the deal at a value of $3.2 billion for a time period of eight years.

Infosys and Daimler declined TechCircle’s requests for comment on the financial terms of the deal.

Watch: Narsimha Rao Mannepalli on Infosys Cobalt, resilient cloud architecture for enterprises

“As software becomes modular, digital infrastructure continues to play an important role in defragmentation,” Infosys said, adding that Daimler will work towards a model that ensures a robust IT infrastructure across its plants and regions, and supports consolidation of its data centers and scaling its IT operations.

Key deliverables of the deal include hybrid cloud technology using Infosys’ recently launched Cobalt brand of service offering, as well as other cloud providers, to focus on open source adoption.

The partnership will also pave the way for a carbon-neutral solution, by consolidating and rationalizing data centres across all regions of Daimler’s operations, and the creation of cognitive, AI-powered anytime-anywhere workplace solutions.

As a part of the deal, automotive IT infrastructure experts based out of Germany, wider Europe, the United States and Asia Pacific regions will transition from Daimler AG to Infosys.

While Infosys did not specify the exact number of employees transferring from Daimler to itself in the statement, it added that it has integrated over 16,000 employees “through other partnerships in recent years.”

“With Infosys we found a partner to scale, to innovate and to speed up. Moreover, this is a strategic partnership for Daimler’s IT capabilities and Infosys’ automotive expertise. Infosys wants to grow with us in the automotive industry, which gives career opportunities for our employees,” Jan Brecht, chief information officer of Daimler and Mercedes-Benz said. 

In the past, Infosys has also serviced digital transformation services for luxury carmaker Volvo Cars.

Daimler, comprising brands such as Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans, Daimler Trucks & Buses and Daimler Mobility, was founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz in 1886.

Daimler Mobility offers financing, leasing, fleet management, investments, credit card and insurance brokerage as well as mobility services.

The group is listed on the Frankfurt and Stuttgart stock exchanges. In 2019, it had a workforce of about 298,700 and sold 3.3 million vehicles. Group revenues amounted to €172.7 billion.

The luxury carmaker is preparing a stock market listing of its trucks division, German business newspaper Handelsblatt reported late Tuesday, citing sources.