Tech Bytes: IBM in $350M Mitsubishi Outsourcing Pact

Mitsubishi Trust and Banking Corp. has signed a 10-year, $350 million outsourcing agreement with International Business Machines Corp.

IBM Global Services will manage the Japanese trust bank's computer data centers and monitor its network links among domestic sales offices.

Yoshifumi Ohno, the bank's general manager of systems planning, said it turned to an outsourcing arrangement so that its own technology staff could focus on new products and applications.

Takuma Otoshi, general manager of IBM Global Services, said banks in Japan are outsourcing in the wake of deregulation and profit pressures. "Banks have had to write off bad assets, and therefore need to reduce costs," he said.

IBM last April signed a $1.5 billion pact with Daiwa Bank Ltd. for systems support, application development, and computer maintenance, Mr. Otoshi said.