T-Systems has extended its contract with Swiss chemical firm Clariant until 2017, Deutsche Telekom's enterprise arm has confirmed.

Under the terms of the latest five-year agreement, T-Systems will continue to provide Clariant with a wide range of ICT services and applications.

These will include global SAP services, desktop services, Citrix capabilities, and Microsoft and group-ware services. T-Systems will also provide support, maintenance and consultancy services to Clariant.

The two companies work together in more than 30 countries overall and have a long-standing relationship, which first began when Clariant selected T-Systems as a strategic service partner more than 15 years ago.

The Swiss firm employs more than 22,000 people and comprises a total of 11 business units, which focus on areas including additives, catalysis and energy, emulsions, and detergents and intermediates.

The announcement of the latest deal was welcomed by Clariant, which praised T-Systems as an "innovative" partner.

Clariant's chief information officer, Volker Laska, said T-Systems has "proven its consistency in terms of deadlines, quality and professionalism through its project services".

The representative added: "T-Systems presented a very attractive service offer for further collaboration, and addressed our requirements with their private cloud approach."

The deal follows T-Systems' successful bid to supply IT and telecommunications support for the Catalan government, which was announced last week.