• Unisys to manage IT operations, such as support desk and data centre
• ECB will continue to own IT hardware and software, will host all affected services within its own data centres
• All contracts of affected ECB staff will be honoured 

The European Central Bank (ECB) today signed a contract with Unisys to manage its IT operations, which include the IT support desk and operation of the data centre. The increasing standardisation of IT services allows these to be managed by an external, specialised supplier, giving the ECB more flexibility to focus on specialised tasks. 

The move will increase the ECB’s resilience. The supplier will comply with the ECB’s IT security policies and its ethics framework. The ECB has already introduced external providers in several other areas of its IT, such as the delivery of projects and ongoing maintenance. 

The ECB will continue to own IT hardware and software and will host all affected services within its own data centres.The ECB will honour all existing staff contracts and there will be no redundancies or termination of contracts of permanent staff. The ECB consulted staff representatives and has agreed on transition arrangements, aimed at supporting affected temporary staff.