Australian (ASX) Stock Market Forum

Spark announces expanded strategic partnership with HPE
 IT infrastructure and services partnership forms part of technology delivery model transformation
 Partnership will contribute to reduced annualised IT costs, supporting SPK-26 Operate Programme cost out
Spark New Zealand (Spark) today announced it has signed an expanded strategic partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)1, which will deliver the automation and efficiency benefits of a flexible,hybrid cloud services model through the HPE GreenLake2 cloud.
Spark currently manages infrastructure services3 within its IT environments, both for its own platforms and those of its business customers.
Under the partnership, Spark will move to a variable model for IT infrastructure in line with market demand, by further leveraging HPE GreenLake cloud.
Spark will also utilise HPE’s global services capabilities to improve the efficiency of its operations.
Spark Customer Director Enterprise and Government, Mark Beder, said “This partnership will contribute to reducing annualised IT costs and ensure Spark’s IT environments are continuously updated in linewith advancements in technology, including HPE’s leading automation and AI capabilities.
“We will also implement HPE GreenLake hybrid cloud management capabilities from Morpheus4, which accelerates workload provisioning – providing a more user-friendly operational experience between public and private cloud environments for Spark and our customers.”
As part of the agreement, HPE will utilise both its local and global workforce to provide services to Spark.Spark will continue to retain strategic decision-making and control over all components of its IT environments including critical infrastructure, service delivery, innovation, IT architectural decisions,security policies, and service orchestration5.
SPK-26 Operate Programme
As previously disclosed, Spark has expanded its SPK-26 Operate Programme to include a significant transformation of its technology delivery model. This delivery model refers to Spark’s IT and network operations.
Spark has had a long-term focus on modernising its technology, embedding AI into its business, and building a resilient, adaptive, and automated network. The new technology delivery model accelerates this long-term focus through the establishment of several strategic partnerships – a common structure utilised by telcos in offshore markets.
1 Under the HPE Partner Ready Program.
2 HPE GreenLake is a hybrid cloud platform that enables businesses to standardise around a cloud operating model across hybrid IT,with flexibility to place the right workloads on the right runtimes and platforms for faster innovation and lower cost
3 Infrastructure services provide the essential resources, such as servers, storage, and networking that businesses need to run applications and store data efficiently and securely.
4 Morpheus Cloud management platform delivers service orchestration, which refers to the management of complex IT services and workflows. It involves integrating various services and systems to work together seamlessly, ensuring that tasks are executed in the correct order and that resources are efficiently utilised.
5 Service orchestration refers to the management of complex IT services and workflows. It involves integrating various services and systems to work together seamlessly, ensuring that tasks are executed in the correct order and that resources are efficiently utilised.

Through these partnerships Spark will leverage the scale, capability, and innovation of global partners, to support better customer outcomes and improved cost efficiency.
This supports Spark’s ambition to deliver an ~$80-$100 million reduction in net labour and opex costs in FY25, and annualised benefits of$110-$140 million by FY27, as outlined in its H1 25 results presentation.

Spark will continue to keep the market updated as further partnership developments occur.

i hold SPK
 
yield trap
  • Spark New Zealand shares tumbled 44% in 2024, driven by New Zealand’s economic downturn and weak consumer, business and enterprise spending
  • Spark has guided to an FY25 dividend of 25 cents per share, which yields approximately 13%
  • The company has downgraded its FY25 guidance three times already, and Macquarie says it does not have enough free cash flow to cover its proposed dividend
 
Spark announces strategic IT collaboration with Infosys
• Information Technology (IT) agreement forms part of technology delivery model transformation and will contribute to reduced IT operating costs
Spark New Zealand (Spark) today announced a strategic agreement with Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE:INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, that will support the
transformation of its technology delivery model.
Leveraging Infosys Topaz1, and Infosys Cobalt2, the collaboration will contribute to reduced IT operating costs, while accelerating Spark’s strategy of enabling digital and AI-driven customer experiences.
Under the agreement, Infosys will provide its global DevOps3 and software engineering capabilities to help build, test, integrate, and deliver Spark's systems and applications, along with monitoring and support.
Spark will continue to retain its IT assets and control its technology architecture strategy, product design and innovation roadmap, and business applications, supported by Infosys’ global reach and expertise.Matt Bain,
Data and Marketing Director at Spark, said, “Infosys has worked alongside our Spark teams for over 16 years to support the applications that enable us to deliver new products and digital experiences for our customers.“
We are now building on this relationship to allow our teams to focus on our technology strategy and the product roadmaps that will grow our competitive advantage, while leveraging Infosys’ global scale to execute these plans quickly and efficiently, and its investment in AI and innovation to enable us to keep delivering great experiences for our customers.”Raja Shah, EVP and Industry Head, Global Markets at Infosys, said, “We are thrilled to deepen our longstanding collaboration with Spark and contribute to its ambitious digital transformation journey,leveraging Infosys Topaz and Infosys Cobalt.
“Our global capabilities and innovative solutions will aim to deliver significant cost efficiencies, and overtime we will work together to enhance customer experience through AI-driven insights and automation.
This collaboration underscores our commitment to driving impactful change and supporting Spark in achieving its strategic goals.”As part of the agreement, Infosys will expand its local workforce to complement its global operations and ensure that critical local support and expertise is retained in New Zealand.
SPK-26 Operate Programme
As previously disclosed, Spark has expanded its SPK-26 Operate Programme to include a significant transformation of its technology delivery model.
This delivery model refers to Spark’s IT and network operations.Spark has had a long-term focus on modernising its technology, embedding AI into its business, and building a resilient, adaptive, and automated network.
The new technology delivery model accelerates this long-term focus through the establishment of several strategic partnerships – a common structure utilised by telcos in offshore markets.
1 an AI-first set of services, solutions, and platforms using generative AI technologies
2 a set of services, solutions and platforms for enterprises to accelerate their cloud journey
3 DevOps is a process that aims to automate and integrate the processes between software development and IT operations.

park New Zealand LimitedARBN 050 611 277 Spark City, Level 1, 50 Albert Street, Private Bag 92028, Auckland, New Zealand
Through these partnerships Spark will leverage the scale, capability, and innovation of global partners, to support better customer outcomes and improved cost efficiency.

This supports Spark’s ambition to deliver an ~$80-$100 million reduction in net labour and opex costs in FY25, and annualised benefits of$110-$140 million by FY27, as outlined in its H1 25 results presentation.

Spark will continue to keep the market updated as further partnership developments occur.

i hold SPK
 
Spark announces new strategic network partnership with Nokia

i hold SPK

hasn't impressed the market , but then any positives will be further down the track ( reduced costs , if any )
 

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