New Delhi, April 2 (IANS): Telecom service provider Bharti Airtel and IBM Wednesday inked a pact to manage Airtel’s infrastructure and application services in India over the next five years, a company statement said here.

“As we embark on the next phase of Airtel's growth journey, I am confident that the agreement with IBM will help us offer innovative and cutting edge products and services to our customers, enabling us achieve our vision of being the most loved brand,” Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO, Bharti Airtel (India & South Asia) said.

This deal was inked following the lapsing of the previous 10-year deal March 31.

Airtel and IBM also have partnerships for IT infrastructure and services across Airtel’s international operations spanning 19 countries including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and the Africa region.

"In the last decade, Bharti's customer base has increased from a few million to over 285 million. Airtel partnered with IBM to drive this growth, by using technology to respond with intuitive offers for customers, managing service delivery, and improving organizational efficiency," said Vanitha Narayanan, managing director, IBM India.