Bupa, a leading provider of private healthcare in the UK, has appointed Patni Computer Systems to provide BPO services for its core business applications. Under the terms of the agreement, Patni will dedicate 40 technical specialists both in the UK and India to Bupa service for the next three years.

The new contract with Patni forms part of a worldwide initiative by Bupa to drive change within its IT function. Through the deal Bupa hopes to improve levels of service to the business, to support quality software developments and to promote global re-use of applications and processes. Bupa estimates that it will make savings of around £1 million over three years through the deal.

David Guest, Chief Applications Officer at Bupa, commented: “The Group’s ambition is driving change in IT. We are a large company and our staff and customers expect professional levels of service, while growth in business volumes will continue to put increasing pressure on services and drive additional requirements. Our software is becoming ever more critical to the business, and they expect it to be delivered on time and work first time. Our range of services, geographies and IT assets is also increasing, so simplification and re-use are both important. Offshoring is an obvious part of the jigsaw.”