Technology giant IBM has signed a five-year, multi-million dollar deal with Quippo-WTTIL for managing the telecom tower companys IT infrastructure.This is IBMs fifth such outsourcing contract in the Indian telecom space. It is already working with Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular and state-owned telco BSNL. As part of the deal, IBM will provide technical support for Quippo-WTTILs IT infrastructure system, including managing the hardware, mailing and infrastructure management software applications, IBM said in a statement.

Quippo-WTTIL manages over 38,000 telecom towers and has plans of rolling out nearly 25,000-30,000 additional towers in the next two years.

"With this agreement, our aim is not just to have an IT partner, but an enabler of growth to enhance our operational efficiencies," Quippo-WTTIL CEO Arun Kapur said.The decision to outsource the management of services is an attempt to create a unified IT environment for the efficient functioning of the joint entity, the company said on Thursday. As per the agreement, IBM will also deploy server and storage support, networking and security services at Quippo-WTTILs hosted data centre in Gurgaon. Quippo-WTTIL currently operates about 38,000 towers and plans to roll out nearly 25,000 additional towers in the next two years.

"IBMs solution for Quippo-WTTIL will help synchronise the recently merged companys everyday business needs, from e-mail to help desk support, enabling Quippo-WTTIL," IBM India/South Asia Director-Integrated Technology Services Neeraj Sharma said.