International retail giant Carrefour has signed a €180m (£155m) agreement with IBM, that will see the technology services provider take over the transformation, management and maintenance of Carrefour’s IT infrastructure and applications in France.

IBM said that this will allow Carrefour to meet the quickly changing demands it faces as a retail business.

The five-year deal has been designed to “optimise IT costs” and rationalise the retailer’s use of subcontractors.

In addition, IBM has been tasked with improving service quality and security within Carrefour’s IT operations.

Carrefour France’s entire IT infrastructure will be hosted from IBM’s first European green datacentre in Montpellier. IBM said that retailer will benefit from the latest technologies in terms of security and a reduction in energy expenses.