HP Signs Technology And Services Accord With Brazil's Vale

The world's largest technology company, Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), announced late Thursday it has signed a seven-year technology and services contract with Brazilian mining company Vale SA (VALE).

"The new contract is designed to meet the needs of Vale's global business by creating a green technology infrastructure that aligns with its environmental sustainability agenda. It utilizes the HP portfolio of energy-efficient data centers, blade servers and PCs. In addition, print solutions that reduce paper usage are included," HP said.

According to local financial newspaper Valor Economico, the value of the contract is $1 billion. HP did not disclose the value of the contract and Vale officials were not immediately reached for comment.

Under the services to be provided by HP to Vale is the consolidation of Vale's 43 data centers into three primary global centers in Brazil, Canada and Singapore that are centrally managed by HP Business Technology Optimization software. The agreement includes midrange, mainframe, storage and disaster recovery services. HP also will manage Vale's global communications network, data centers and technology assets. HP will also provide managed print services.

-By Rogerio Jelmayer, Dow Jones Newswires; 55-11-2847-4521; [e-mail]