Sara Lee awards contract to HP

Sara Lee has awarded a seven-year infrastructure services contract to HP to manage its global technology environment.

The deal is part of the company’s aim to increase operational efficiencies, along with reducing costs in its businesses.

Steve Merry, senior vice-president and chief information officer at Sara Lee, said the new agreement with HP will help the company to head towards “operational excellence”.

He continued: “Over the past eight years, HP has consistently been a trusted partner that understands how technology can help us achieve our business objectives.”

Ann Livermore, executive vice president of HP’s Technology Solutions Group, added the right infrastructure to meet customers’ needs will be met, “today and into the future”.

Earlier this month, the company announced a quarterly profit that surpassed analysts’ estimates.

Over its fiscal first quarter – which ended September 27th – Sara Lee had net income of $230 million (149.6 million pounds), up 15 percent from the previous three-month period’s $200 million.

Based in Dowers Grove, US, Sara Lee was founded in 1939 and, in 2006, employed 50,000 people.

Its revenue in 2008 was £13.212 billion (8.60 billion pounds), with operating profit of $160 million.

The company’s brands include Prima, Radox, Sanex and Ambi Pur.