Bharti Airtel, a leading integrated telecommunications company, and IBM today signed a new agreement to manage Airtel's infrastructure and application services in India over the next five years. This agreement builds on the 10 year relationship between the two organizations which has driven the co-creation of industry leading telco solutions and customer-centric services.

The agreement is based on Airtel's new IT vision that defines the next generation of services for its ever-growing customer base and to offer best in class services to its customers through solutions leveraging cutting edge technology. As part of the new vision, Airtel is also building in- house capabilities and a strong partner eco-system, and has selected IBM to manage the IT infrastructure and applications for its operations in India.

The new model offers Airtel greater flexibility to scale services and adapt in real-time to changing market dynamics and offer a differentiated customer experience leveraging IBM's industry solutions and global experience.

Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO, Bharti Airtel (India & South Asia) said, ''As we embark on the next phase of Airtel's growth journey, I am confident that the agreement with IBM will help us offer innovative and cutting edge products and services to our customers, enabling us achieve our vision of being the most loved brand.''

Vanitha Narayanan, managing director, IBM India, said, ''In the last decade, Bharti's customer base has increased from a few million to over 285 million. Airtel partnered with IBM to drive this growth, by using technology to respond with intuitive offers for customers, managing service delivery, and improving organizational efficiency. This pioneering partnership will continue to bring innovation to Airtel's customers, which is the foundation for long term strategy.''

Shares of the company gained Rs 9.20, or 2.92%, to settle  at  Rs 324.75.  The total volume of shares traded  was  298,195 at  the BSE (Wednesday).