Asda selects HCL Technologies to help drive IT transformation

HCL Technologies (HCL), a leading global technology company, today announced that it has been selected to help drive IT transformation at the UK’s third-largest grocery retailer, Asda. The three-year application services contract will see HCL transform Asda’s IT Application Services with a new DevOps delivery model to drive data and analytics and support back-office applications through the full lifecycle of development, testing and support. HCL will also build a central data management platform to enable Asda to improve its insight and analytics capabilities.

Asda operates more than 600 stores accross the UK, employing over 135,000 people. Asda wanted to adopt a more agile approach towards application development and testing. This would allow the company to respond faster to business requirements and reduce time to market, while driving better user experience and satisfaction. Through modernizing its current data platform and adopting a new DevOps operating model, Asda will be able to break down the siloes between internal IT teams, increase visibility into the application lifecycle and accelerate innovation across the business. HCL was selected due to its extensive expertise in successfully delivering similar large scale IT transformation and its proven data analytics capabilities.

“As organizations embark on a digital transformation with technology increasingly driving the business, it’s critical that we have the agility to respond quickly to changing needs, particularly in capabilities such as Data and Analytics” said Phil Tenney, CIO at Asda “HCL offered the right blend of capabilities, experience, quality and value to help us drive the level of transformation we needed. We also identified a strong cultural fit between our two teams, which will be indispensable as we work side-by-side in the new DevOps delivery model. We’re looking forward to working with HCL on our Application Services, through its focus on continuous improvement and unique expertise that will help our teams keep up with the latest industry trends, technologies and tools.”

“We’re delighted to have the opportunity to work so closely with Asda as it embarks on transforming its data and analytics capabilities,” said Ashish Gupta, Corporate Vice President, at HCL Technologies. “Today’s grocery retail market is highly-competitive and the increasing trend towards online shopping and in-store digitalization puts more pressure than ever on IT to accelerate innovation. This deal is a fantastic endorsement of HCL’s next-generation application services and ability to drive major transformations.”

HCL works with major retailers worldwide to help them boldly navigate the new digital age and carve a successful path to enterprise modernization.