In May, Germany proved itself as a potential hub of IT-services buyers. The month’s two largest IT outsourcing deals were inked by German companies. The largest one was signed between KarstadtQuelle and EDS. Karstadt Quelle, a German retailer, awarded one billion dollars IT-services contract to EDS.

Under the terms of the eight-year outsourcing deal, EDS will control a 74.9% stake in Itellium Systems & Services, a subsidiary of KarstadtQuelle. The retailer will retain the remaining 25.1%.

As a part of the contract, EDS will handle application development and maintenance for KarstadtQuelle’s department stores and online businesses, plus managing and supporting desktops, laptops, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and printers. In addition, EDS will also manage third-party contracts for KarstadtQuelle’s infrastructure, including its retail network. KarstadtQuelle plans to save approximately $884 million over the course of the contract.

Allianz, Germany’s financial-services provider signed a five-year outsourcing contract with Fujitsu Services. This is the second largest deal in the month of May and biggest-ever contract for Fujitsu in Germany. Under this $544 million IT-services deal, Fujitsu will supply, install, support and maintain these services for Allianz’s internal IT-services division AGIS.