Royal Mail to spend £1.2bn on IT

13:20 29th July 2008

Royal Mail intends to spend £1.2 billion on IT-related projects in the next four years, in a move destined to create a number of technology jobs.

The national postal service, which handles more than 80 million items a year, plans to invest heavily in IT as it fights growing competition from rival delivery services.

It has already ordered high-speed sorting machines, while the company is expecting upgrades from Siemens for integrated mail processors and from Solystic for automated mail sorters.

Robin Dargue, the group's technical director, told Computer Weekly that a robust IT infrastructure will allow the company to develop new markets.

He said: "Royal Mail has for the first time an IT strategy that not only integrates with the business strategy, it is the business strategy."

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Last month, a report by the Confederation of British Industry cited improved customer retention and satisfaction as the main reason businesses are developing their IT.