HP drives off with Renault outsource pact

Hewlett-Packard has signed a $150 million IT outsourcing deal with French auto manufacturer Renault. HP will provide desktop management services for Renault under the five-year agreement announced Friday.

Renault said it hopes the project will reduce its IT budget and improve performance across its computing operations. The outsourcing pact specifically calls for HP to take on management of the automaker's PCs, workstations, local and network printers, video conferencing systems and other equipment. Renault indicated that up to 160 of its employees will be transferred to HP, from a number of locations, as part of the agreement. Ironically, the two partners are rivals in auto racing's Formula One series, where HP is a primary sponsor on the BMW WilliamsF1 cars and Renault fields a factory team.