Infosys expands Metsä Group IT deal with an AI focus

Infosys has expanded its collaboration with Metsä Group under a multi-year agreement to overhaul the Finnish company's IT operations.

Under the deal, Infosys will provide end-to-end IT services across Metsä Group's global operations and support a shift to a more unified, AI-ready operating model. The work will cover application management, cloud operations, workplace services, service desk functions, and on-site IT and operational technology interface support at mills and offices.

Metsä Group is a Finland-based forest industry company with businesses spanning pulp, paperboards, tissue and greaseproof papers, wood products, and wood supply and forest services. It generated EUR 5.8 billion in sales in 2025 and employs about 8,800 people.

The expanded arrangement builds on a long-standing relationship between the two companies. It also reflects a broader trend among industrial groups seeking to simplify fragmented technology estates and reduce the cost of running core systems across international operations.

The engagement will use Infosys Topaz Fabric to introduce agentic AI tools into Metsä Group's IT operations. The aim is to automate parts of service management, improve issue resolution, and support cost savings.

For Metsä Group, the project also marks a change in sourcing model. The company is consolidating responsibility for a wide range of IT services with one partner as it pursues a more standardised operating structure across the organisation.

Chief Information Officer Kristiina Lammila outlined the rationale for the move.

"This engagement marks a new chapter in Metsä's long-standing collaboration with Infosys, as we simplify and transform our IT sourcing model to meet the efficiency demands of today's business environment. We are confident in our joint ability to deliver on these targets and accelerate the transformation of Metsä's IT, powered by AI," Lammila said.

Operational focus

The scope of the arrangement points to a practical emphasis on day-to-day IT delivery rather than a narrow software project. Alongside cloud and application work, Infosys will be responsible for workplace services and service desk operations, as well as support at the interface between information technology and operational technology at industrial sites.

That mix is significant in sectors such as forestry and manufacturing, where production environments rely on stable links between mill systems and business IT. Disruption in those connections can affect plant operations, maintenance processes, and staff access to core services.

Infosys framed the deal around productivity gains, economies of scale, and the use of automation and data-led service management. While financial terms were not disclosed, both companies presented the agreement as part of a longer-term effort to make IT operations more efficient.

Industry pressures

The announcement comes as manufacturers and process industries face pressure to contain costs while modernising ageing systems and preparing for wider use of AI. Many large groups are trying to balance experimentation with generative AI against the less visible work of consolidating infrastructure, standardising support, and improving data quality.

For service providers, that has created openings in managed services contracts that combine conventional outsourcing with newer AI-based tools for monitoring, ticketing, and workflow management. For customers, the challenge is often less about adopting a single technology than integrating it into large, established operating environments.

EVP and Industry Head, Europe, Manufacturing, Ruchir Budhwar, pointed to those pressures in describing the deal.

"The forestry industry is contending with rising cost pressures, growing operational complexity, and the need to scale AI-driven innovation, all at once. Metsä Group is approaching this with real clarity and ambition, and its decision to consolidate and transform the Group's IT with Infosys reflects the trust built over years of collaboration. Infosys brings deep manufacturing sector expertise and a proven AI-first approach, with Infosys Topaz Fabric driving intelligent, agentic operations at the heart of this engagement. We are fully committed to delivering the outcomes that matter most to Metsä's business, while deepening our long-term commitment to the Finnish market and strengthening our position as a leading technology partner in the region," Budhwar said.