IBM says the agreement with Veda (ASX: VED), now includes cloud services as well as the continuing delivery of a “highly reliable and resilient infrastructure”.

“The contract reflects the deep partnership between IBM and Veda, and the value that the partnership has delivered to our business," said Veda’s CEO Nerida Caesar.

"Being a business based on using data and analytics to provide insights, we are constantly looking at the best way to manage and deliver the most accurate insights to our clients. To this end, we have already deployed one of our systems that supports comprehensive credit reporting (CCR) on IBM’s flexible infrastructure.”

The extended agreement assists Veda’s growth strategy, as it provides a scalable solution to support the company’s introduction of CCR products in response to the credit industry's most significant reform in recent times.

Included as part of the amendments to the Privacy Act 1988, CCR requires five additional data fields in order to provide a more complete picture of a consumer’s credit activity. Veda expects that the volume and mix of data relating to credit reporting will grow rapidly as companies realise the benefits of CCR.

Jeffrey Rhoda, General  Manager, IBM Australia and New Zealand, said the changes to credit reporting requirements had prompted Veda to expand its relationship with IBM, to support the expected growth of data and analysis that CCR will bring.

“We are excited to support Veda as it navigates through a significant time of transformation within the credit reporting industry. The ability to support clients during phases of critical growth in a complex business environment is what differentiates IBM as the leading infrastructure and cloud service provider,” Rhoda said.

Veda’s customers range from financial services organisations, utility companies and telecommunications providers, with its core product offering being the provision of credit reports in relation to individuals and businesses. It carries credit information on 20 million individuals and 5.7 million commercial entities in Australia and New Zealand.

Veda listed on the ASX in December last year and is continuing to grow its product and market portfolio, with the IBM project a key strategic pillar to support the company’s growth plans.