MUMBAI:Sony pictures entertainment (SPE) has signed a five-year $3.8 million contract with IBM to support its global financial system.

The agreement, signed in Q1 2007, expands on a $4.3 million Q4 2006 contract between the two companies that was based on a competitive evaluation.

IBM global business services will provide application management services for SPE‘s sap global financial applications, leveraging IBM‘s India-based global delivery capabilities. The agreement, which includes application, system development and security support responsibilities, will allow SPE‘s own IT staff to focus on other high priority new project and improvement initiatives, says an official press release.

"Here at Sony Pictures, we have put a real priority on fiscal discipline and the integration and growth of our business on a worldwide scale. So our financial system must perform at optimum levels to give us a global view of financial and product information across our filmed entertainment business," said SPE‘s chief financial officer David Hendler. "IBM offers us a low-cost and high quality support model for the global SAP skills that we require. We‘ve brought in global reinforcements to augment our SPE staff, have substantially reduced our support costs, and redeployed our IT and finance staff on high-value activities," he added.

Originally implemented by IBM in collaboration with SPE, the new, single financial system replaced several systems that were installed in the territories in which SPE operates. The system provides more than 2300 users real-time access to SPE financial information globally. IBM will provide operations and support services, both on site at SPE‘s Culver City headquarters and remotely from the IBM support centers in India.

"SPE has been an entertainment industry leader in modernizing its enterprise financial systems, and the agreement to outsource global SAP financial applications support services to IBM continues that tradition of leadership," said IBM global business services worldwide leader for media and entertainment Steven Abraham. "IBM Global Business Services‘ seamless, efficient and cost effective approach to infrastructure support enables SPE to focus its resources on core business priorities.