HCL Technologies, a leading global IT solutions major, Monday announced a$350-million deal from Reader's Digest spread over seven years to provide awide range of outsourcing services.

The scope of the deal with Reader'sDigest Association includes development of software applications,infrastructure support, network security, data storage, disaster recovery andsupport for data centres, a company statement said.

These solutions will be enabled through an integrated helpdesk in 14 languages- Portuguese, French, Russian, Czech, Spanish, Polish, Finnish, German,Hungarian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Romanian, Slovak and Turkish.

HCL will support such services across 45 countries through its global deliverylocations in Poland, the US and India, supported by a worldwide onsite supportnetwork.

"We expect HCL will bring down cost of operations significantly, whileimproving services and bringing cutting-edge technology and capabilities totransform our IT functionality and service," said Al Perruzza, senior vicepresident, global operations, for Reader's Digest.

The $5 billion HCL group, founded in 1976 and among the early entrants in thecountry's information technology industry, comprises two companies listed onIndia bourses - HCL Technologies and HCL Infosystems.

Its team comprises over 59,000 professionals in some 20 countries who work withseveral leading Fortune 1000 firms, including leading IT and Technology firms,the company said.

Headquartered at Pleasantville, New York, Reader's Digest Association publishes92 magazines, including 50 editions of Reader's Digest - touted as the world's largest-circulationmagazine. It also operates 65 branded websites to generate 18 million unique visitorsper month and sells some 68 million books, music and video products across theworld each year.