2e2 and Patni finalise £20m support deal

Indian services firm Patni has confirmed it could begin providing support services to UK integrator 2e2’s customer base as soon as next month, after the duo finalised their alliance.

Under the contract, which is initially worth an estimated £20m, Patni will provide end-user support services such as helpdesk, service desk and field operations.

The offshore outsourcing specialist added that the partnership has the potential to "scale rapidly" over the next two years.

News that 2e2 was considering offshoring some support functions first emerged in June, immediately sparking fears over UK job losses. 2e2's chief executive Terry Burt recently argued the move was in line with the larger IT services firms with which 2e2 is increasingly competing.

2e2's UK managing director Neil Allpress argued that working with Patni would benefit 2e2 customers.

“This will allow us to offer a choice of delivery models, to introduce new services far more quickly and to scale our delivery rapidly to meet the requirements of our cloud services customers,” he said.

Derek Kemp, EMEA president of Patni, said: “We are pleased to confirm our contract with 2e2 for end-user support services such as helpdesk, service desk and field operations. 2e2 has an excellent reputation for customer service in the marketplace and is growing quickly as a result. We are proud of the role that we will play in helping 2e2 to build its business still further.