DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Xerox Corp. (XRX) inked an eight-year, $848 million deal with Texas to upgrade the state's data centers, expanding the company's already growing presence in the technology services sector. The deal, which the company called one of the largest of its kind in the country, comes as data-storage contracts and other IT services grow increasingly lucrative for businesses like Xerox. Strength in Xerox's services operations led to a higher fourth-quarter profit despite weakness at its printer-and-copier division. On Monday, Xerox said it will lower costs for the Texas Department of Information Resources by whittling the operations of 28 separate facilities down to two centralized data centers. The department also renewed its printing and mailing services contract with Xerox for $53 million over the next six years. Xerox prints more than 240 million pages each year for the state. Shares were recently up 3 cents at $8.28 Monday. The stock is off 20% over the past year. -By Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2909; Andrew.FitzGerald@dowjones.com
