Desjardins signs CD$670-million deal with Bell Canada

Desjardins Group, an integrated financial group in Canada that includes life and general insurance services, has renewed its service agreement with Bell Canada.
The new agreement, valued at approximately CD$670 million, will go into effect Jan. 1, 2007. It states Bell will continue to provide Desjardins with communications services, payment services and call centre services until Dec. 31, 2014.
“Desjardins has been benefiting from Bell’s expertise since 2001, and Bell has successfully provided Desjardins with a fast, effective response to its various Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) needs,” Desjardins announced in a press release. “For example, IP (Internet Protocol) technology, which allows voice, data and image services to converge on a single infrastructure, is already deployed for some aspects of Desjardins’ operations.
“It will now be necessary to broaden its scope to cover the entire Desjardins network, providing the capability to deal with their expansion needs. Bell’s expertise in this area makes it the ideal partner.”
Desjardins announced the agreement also establishes a sharing of expertise in sustainable development, “specifically issues related to residual materials management performance, climate change and responsible procurement.” It is also aimed at identifying opportunities to work together to promote sustainable development, including awareness activities.
“We are delighted to be entering into an agreement of this kind with a partner of Bell’s prestige and reputation,” Fdration des caisses Desjardins du Qubec president and chief operating officer Bertrand Laferrire said. “With this new agreement, we can be sure that our telecommunications platform will consistently remain both highly powerful and on the leading edge of technology.
“This is essential, given that telecommunications are critical to our daily operations.”