OREANDA-NEWS. June 29, 2012. Sberbank President and Chairman of the Board German Gref and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer expressed their consent to renew five-year agreement. During their meeting in Redmond, the heads of the two major companies also reached an agreement on a licensing program and its terms under Microsoft Enterprise Agreement. The agreement applies within the entire organization of Sberbank, including its subsidiaries in Russia, CEE, India, China, etc., reported the press-centre of Sberbank.

“Sberbank’s development strategy includes technical upgrade of the bank and “industrialization” of its systems and processes, as well as a considerable enhancement of its operational efficiency,” emphasized Sberbank Senior Vice-President Victor Orlovsky. “Here, the key role is played by advanced IT technology. Renewal of our agreement with Microsoft will enable us to use company's most advanced products and solutions on all devices at all bank offices in Russia or elsewhere. The licensing program and its terms enable us to do this in the most efficient way."

This five-year agreement will satisfy the bank's needs by providing the required number of licenses, taking into consideration release of new versions of Microsoft products and solutions, starting from user workstations and ATMs and ending with its server systems. In addition, the agreement also pays due attention to the bank's plans to deploy a mega data processing center at Skolkovo, a Russian innovation city, for which deployment Microsoft cloud technologies will be used.

“Execution of a corporate licensing agreement with Sberbank of Russia OJSC is one more step to build up our strategic cooperation. We are proud of the arrangements that we have reached and that open new prospects for further partnership between our companies,“ says Microsoft Russia President Nikolay Pryanishnikov. “We are happy to know that our advanced technology will help Sberbank of Russia implement its development strategy, including increasing its presence on the international scene. Products and solutions offered by Microsoft will enable Sberbank to retain its position of the innovation leader in the financial sector, and will also provide an opportunity to improve its efficiency and performance.”

Microsoft Enterprise Agreement, a corporate licensing program, is designed for companies that are ready to choose Microsoft platform as their corporate standard. A key advantage of such licensing alternative is Software Assurance, which makes it possible to use new versions of products, various security patches and updates, and a range of additional services to develop IT infrastructure and keep it up-to-date.