OREANDA-NEWS. December 9, 2011. Fujitsu America, Inc. (FAI) will purchase the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) data center and provide a variety of Information Systems (IS) support services to BCBSNC in an agreement valued at USD 250 million over 5 years.
Of the 210 BCBSNC employees who currently work in affected areas, approximately 185 will be offered opportunities with Fujitsu; an additional 25 employees will be retained by BCBSNC.
Agreement includes ownership, management and support of functions such as mainframes, servers, PCs, telephone systems, networks and technology security.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina today announced it has signed an agreement with Fujitsu America, Inc., a global technology services company, under which FAI will purchase the BCBSNC data center, located in Research Triangle Park, and provide a variety of IS support services to BCBSNC.

This agreement is expected to provide BCBSNC with business flexibility and significant operational cost savings, as well as offer professional development opportunities for BCBSNC employees in affected business areas. As part of the agreement, Fujitsu will offer positions to approximately 185 BCBSNC employees.

"This change is part of our effort to find ways to reduce costs while maintaining high levels of quality and service," said BCBSNC Senior Vice President and CIO Alan Hughes. "Our employees provide these services very well -- and at remarkable levels of reliability -- but this new agreement will provide greater flexibility and cost-effectiveness. As we considered options for transitioning these functions, Fujitsu America's strong and comprehensive commitment to our people, business needs and technology set them apart."

The agreement includes ownership, management and support of a variety of technology systems and functions -- including computer mainframes, servers, desktop PCs, telephone systems, networks and technology security.

"Fujitsu brings a proven track record of global strength, capabilities, expertise and experience in managing datacenters and complete information systems to the existing BCBSNC infrastructure," said Fujitsu America President and CEO Tony Doye. "Tapping into the intelligence and resources of the BCBSNC employees and the functionalities of the current datacenter ensures the operational continuity that is critical to providing our customers with flexible, dynamic and manageable solutions within the datacenter."

The transition of employees and services to Fujitsu is expected to be complete in February, 2012.