Spark announces strategic IT collaboration with Infosys

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 Topaz(1), and Infosys Cobalt(2), 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 DevOps(3) 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 long-standing 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 over time 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. 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. (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. Authorised by: Rodney Deacon Finance Lead Partner – Investor Relations and Commercial For more information contact: For media queries please contact: Althea Lovell Corporate Relations Lead Partner (64) 21 222 2992 althea.lovell@spark.co.nz For investor queries please contact: Rodney Deacon Finance Lead Partner – Investor Relations and Commercial (64) 21 631 074 rodney.deacon@spark.co.nz Ends