Cinepolis, one of the world's largest multiplex operators, has signed a three-year ITO contract with IBM which will commence operations in India. As part of the contract IBM will deploy, manage and support the IT infrastructure that will be vital for Cinepolis' roll-out plans in the country. Processes put in place by IBM will enable Cinepolis to control operating expenses as well as develop and deploy new customer facing applications.

Mexico-based Cinepolis was the first to introduce novel concepts to the Latin American exhibition industry, such as the first multiplexes in 1972. As part of its expansion, Cinepolis aims to open 500 screens in India by 2016. Of this, it is looking at making 130 screens go-live in eight cities over next 3 years. The ITO contract will result in IBM powering Cinepolis operations at each of these sites.

According to Ashish Shukla, Head Exhibition, Cinepolis India, "Cinepolis endeavors to look for best in class solutions across all functional and technical areas and IBM was the ideal strategic technology partner for us. With technology increasingly underpinning business growth, we are confident that our partnership with IBM will enable us to continue to provide differentiated services to customers."