The AA signs BT and Panasonic for field force rescue

The AA has signed a multimillion-pound field force automation contract deal with BT and Panasonic.

The three-year deal will see the vendor partnership take over laptop operations support and services for the AA's 3,000 strong patrol staff in the UK and Ireland.

BT will also take on the AA's support functions and helpdesk and service operations, as well as looking after the motoring organisation's relationships with third party content and services suppliers.

Panasonic will take care of the hardware side of things, providing support for the field force's laptops and other hardware, and, similar to the BT arrangement, will deal with third party relationships.

The pair were given a timeframe of two months to complete the infrastructure changeover, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of June. Two-thirds of the work has been completed to date.

The AA is now in the process of a major IT reshuffle, following its recent sale by parent Centrica.

Julie Hanley, project manager at the AA, said the company had considered bringing the functions in-house but decided to outsource as its current IT team had reached capacity and also as a means of safeguarding jobs. The ex-Centrica employees have been TUPEed across to BT.

Hanley said the changeover has been "seamless" from the patrol's point of view. "BT has lifted and shifted the process to the service they're now providing," she told silicon.com.