Technology and consulting corporation IBM has entered a five-year software agreement with Abertis, an infrastructure management group that operates motorways in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. The contract focuses on migrating the highway operator to the SAP S/4HANA platform, an enterprise resource planning system utilized for data processing and business operations. The technology transition will affect Abertis subsidiaries located in Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Chile, and Puerto Rico.
The engagement targets the underlying systems processing daily toll collections and traffic incidents. Operating these transaction environments requires high reliability to manage increasing user demands. Through this migration, the operator intends to establish a common technological framework. This structure adapts to regional regulations while maintaining consistent performance across the international footprint. The system architecture supports advanced analytics to process operational metrics and provides the foundation necessary to deploy additional mobility services.
IBM Consulting, the professional services division of the technology provider, will execute the implementation and handle the ongoing technology management. The project operates under a joint governance framework involving technical personnel from both organizations. This arrangement includes specific success metrics and change management protocols to minimize potential disruptions to daily traffic operations.
“We are seeing how the infrastructure sector is entering a phase in which technology ceases to be a project and becomes a structural condition,” said José Miguel, Partner, Distribution and Industrial Sector Leader at IBM Spain, IBM Consulting. “Agreements like this respond to that need to provide stability, coherence and a long-term vision to systems that are critical to daily operations.”
The system transition will also alter the interfaces presented to consumers. The consulting firm will assist the infrastructure operator in developing mobile applications and web portals. Motorists use these digital platforms to manage accounts, register vehicles, and process payments. Upgrading the background infrastructure ensures these customer-facing applications function without interruption during periods of heavy volume.
“This allows us the opportunity to make decisions with a long-term perspective and reduce complexity in a very diverse environment. Having a common framework gives us more predictability and more room to focus on business development and relationships with users,” said Miguel Ángel Medina, CIO of Abertis.
