Health Net Inc, one of the largest managed health care companies in the US, has taken on IBM in a five-year managed services and IT infrastructure deal. The contract, estimated to be worth over US$300 million, will see IBM manage Health Net's entire IT infrastructure.

Under the terms of the contract IBM will provide Health Net with full IT infrastructure management services including: data centre services, IT security management, help desk and desk-side support.

James E. Woys, Health Net's COO, said, "This is an important step in making Health Net more competitive and a key component of our operations strategy to increase our capabilities while reducing administrative costs and improving efficiency. By partnering with IBM, Health Net will receive benefits including reduction of IT costs and operational risk while gaining access to IBM's global resources and technologies."

Health Net expects to derive substantial cost savings and increased data centre reliability from the deal. However, no projected savings have been released.