Bangalore, India - August 5, 2010:
Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT) and Citibank N.A. (NYSE:C) announced that the companies have signed an agreement for Wipro to take over the operation and management of Citi’s data center in Meerbusch Germany, a suburb of Dusseldorf. In conjunction with the transaction, Wipro has taken the data center from Citi and intends to use the site to support other outsourcing clients. Citi will lease back office and data center space from Wipro for at least 30 months, and Wipro will provide Citi with facilities management and physical infrastructure management services during the period.
The Meerbusch, Germany center will be Wipro’s first data center facility in Europe and will enable the Company to offer a full portfolio of infrastructure management solutions to its global clients. Wipro expects the data center to support the delivery of its mainframe, Windows, Unix, Linux and AS/400 outsourcing services. In addition, the Company plans to extend its Dynamically Adaptive Infrastructure (DAI) cloud platform to the German data center. The expanded capabilities will enable Wipro to deliver comprehensive outsourcing solutions in Europe that can be managed remotely, delivered in the Company’s data center or installed on the Company’s cloud infrastructure.
“The addition of a data center in Europe represents an important milestone in the Company’s growth strategy,” stated Sameer Kishore, President of Wipro Infocrossing, the data center outsourcing practice of Wipro. “In 2007, Wipro acquired Infocrossing, a US-based provider of data center outsourcing solutions. The addition of the data center delivery capability enabled Wipro to compete more aggressively for large, total outsourcing engagements in the US. The Meerbusch facility will enable Wipro to extend its capabilities to the European market and strengthen the Company’s ability to compete for global outsourcing opportunities.”
The facility is comprised of approximately 9,000 square meters of total space, including approximately 1,700 square meters of raised floor. The facility meets the standards for a Tier III data center and has been owned and operated by Citi for more than 20 years. The agreement transfers ownership of the data center and operations to Wipro, and provides a period of up to 30 months for Citi to migrate its computing infrastructure out of the data center. As Citi vacates the facility, Wipro plans to make improvements to the data center and begin migrating new clients to the site.
“Wipro’s data center capabilities have become a key component when competing for large outsourcing engagements,” added Ralf Reich, General Manager & Country Head, Germany. “With the addition of the Meerbusch site, we will be able to deliver a full portfolio of mainframe, Windows and AS/400 outsourcing services from a Wipro data center in Europe, and extend our cloud computing platform to the region. This demonstrates our commitment to building localized and global delivery capabilities, and provides an important point of differentiation from our competitors,” Mr. Reich concluded.
About Wipro
Wipro Technologies, a division of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT) is the first PCMM Level 5 and SEI CMM Level 5 certified global IT services organization. Wipro Technologies was recently assessed at Level 5 for CMMI V 1.2 across offshore and onsite development centers. Wipro is one of the largest product engineering and support service providers worldwide. Wipro provides comprehensive research and development services, IT solutions and services, including systems integration, information systems outsourcing, package implementation, software application management, and datacenter managed services to corporations globally.
In the Indian market, Wipro is a leader in providing IT solutions and services for the corporate segment in India, offering system integration, network integration, software solutions and IT services.
Wipro also has a profitable presence in niche market segments of consumer products and lighting. In the Asia-Pacific and Middle East markets, Wipro provides IT solutions and services for global corporations. Wipro's ADS' are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and its equity shares are listed in India on the Stock Exchange - Mumbai, and the National Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit our website at www.wipro.com
Media Contacts
Wipro Technologies
India:
Radhika Mahadevan
Wipro Technologies
+91- 9945042603
radhika.mahadevan@wipro.com
Mangala Koti Singhal
Gutenberg Communications
+91 9686446789
mangala@gutenbergpr.com
Germany
Dirk Beiersdorff
+49-89-17 80 37 17
dirk@beiersdorff.de
Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements
Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects and our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions are forward looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding our ability to integrate and manage acquired IT professionals, our ability to integrate acquired assets in a cost effective and timely manner, fluctuations in earnings, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, , liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Wipro has made strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Wipro may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward looking statements, including statements contained in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. Wipro does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company.
For further information, please visit our websites at www.wipro.com, www.wiprocorporate.com and www.wipro.co.in.
