ITG Group which supplies telecommmunications and computers to business, has formed a strategic alliance with Lucent Technologies. Lucent, which employs 500 people in Ireland and supplies call centre technology, is a British company which was formerly part of AT&T.

Mr John Nagle, ITG Group's managing director, said the company would now be able to target medium and smaller call centre customers as well as ordinary companies. ITG supplies telecommunications and computer solutions to 4,000 clients including AIB, Bank of Ireland Asset Managers, Ulster Bank and PMPA.

In a statement, Mr Derek Corcoran, regional manager of Lucent said the company had been very successful in Ireland with its call centre and "high-end PBX offerings". He said the alliance would enable it to repeat this at the midrange and smaller end of the market. ITG would not be well-known among the general public. It has recently come to public attention through its installation of telephone booths in major Irish cities where it now competes against Telecom Eireann. It was the first company to provide an alternative in this area, according to Mr Nagle.