- This marks a one-year, £2.28M contract extension to Kyndryl and Defra’s current partnership
- Kyndryl is supporting Defra in reducing technical debt
LONDON, January 28, 2025 — Kyndryl (NYSE: KD), the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) today announced an agreement to oversee and support Defra’s core network infrastructure, which underpins vital services for UK citizens. This one-year extension of their existing partnership will enable Defra to further reduce technical debt as part of its cloud adoption journey.
Defra provides numerous critical digital services essential to the UK’s trade, flood protection, disease prevention and many other elements of citizens’ daily lives. Like many government departments, Defra faces significant challenges from legacy systems and outdated technology. Within this partnership, Kyndryl will support Defra by modernizing IT systems, managing networks and supporting core network infrastructure to host and run Defra’s critical services.
As part of Defra’s ambitious modernization initiatives, Kyndryl is also supporting Defra’s Animal and Plant Health Agency in modernizing its Animal Disease Testing Service application.
Building on their existing successful partnership, Kyndryl is positioned to support Defra in its digital modernization journey. Leveraging its extensive network experience, Kyndryl provides practitioner expertise and advanced technologies that help government departments prepare for the next wave of transformative hybrid cloud adoption with 5G-enabled edge computing and software-defined networking.
Over the past year, Kyndryl has served as a trusted infrastructure advisor to Defra, offering both proactive project support and critical assistance during periods of peak network demand. Kyndryl played a key role in helping Defra refresh critical end-of-life infrastructure, ensuring continued operational resilience.
"This renewed partnership with Defra is an exciting step forward as we continue to support them in managing their core network infrastructure all while ensuring the delivery of critical services that millions of UK citizens rely on daily," said John Chambers, President of Kyndryl United Kingdom and Ireland. "Defra's ambitious roadmap for a cleaner, greener and more prosperous country aligns perfectly with Kyndryl's commitment to empowering the UK's public sector to deliver better services and enhance people's lives."
About Defra
Defra is the government body responsible for improving and protecting the environment. Defra is a ministerial department, working with 34 agencies and public bodies. Its aim is to grow a green economy and sustain thriving rural communities. Defra also supports the UK’s food, farming and fishing industries. For more information, visit www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs.
About Kyndryl
Kyndryl (NYSE: KD) is the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, serving thousands of enterprise customers in more than 60 countries. The company designs, builds, manages and modernizes the complex, mission-critical information systems that the world depends on every day. For more information, visit www.kyndryl.com.
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