PLANO, Texas -- Perot Systems Corp. and Vanguard Car Rental USA Inc. announced the signing of a 10-year $275 million information technology (IT) outsourcing contract.

The contract calls for Perot Systems to provide substantially all of the IT services required by Vanguard Car Rental. These services include application development and maintenance, data center, desktop and helpdesk services. The majority of the work will take place in Fort Lauderdale, Fla; Herndon, Va.; and Plano, Texas.

Vanguard Car Rental, which recently acquired the Alamo Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental brands and other assets of ANC Rental Corp., plans to consolidate the separate information technology systems currently used to support the brands. Perot Systems will consolidate these systems onto a single system.

"We are extremely happy to have a true partner committed to the success of Vanguard Car Rental and both our brands," said Tyler Best, CIO of Vanguard Car Rental. "The combined knowledge and experience of Vanguard and Perot Systems will make the Vanguard information technology services team a leader in the car rental industry. Additionally, consolidating both brands onto a single platform will allow Vanguard to achieve a competitive advantage in the marketplace."

This contract replaces the multi-year contract between Perot Systems and ANC Car Rental signed in 2000. The new contract with Vanguard will run through 2012.

"The relationship with the entire Vanguard team is very strong and one which we are confident will produce great results for both firms," said Scott Lang, Perot Systems vice president and strategic markets group leader.