Airtel eyes insourcing to manage IT infra as IBM contract up for renewal

The slowdown in the telecom segment is reflecting on IBM's India revenue

Private sector telecom major Bharti Airtel is looking at a multi-vendor approach to manage its information technology (IT) infrastructure, apart from insourcing part of its technology operations. Its outsourcing contract with IBM worth around $1 billion comes up for renewal this year.

According to sources in the know, both the size and the scope of the contract coming for roll-over are likely to be much smaller than what they used to be, because Airtel is looking at carving up the deal and awarding this to multiple IT services players with specialised skills.

“The contract (coming up for renewal) will be