IBM has finalized <A HREF="http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1830040,00.asp">a $1.6 billion outsourcing and consulting deal</A> with NiSource, in which it will take over many of the energy company's business support tasks. Under the terms of the 10-year deal, IBM will operate business processes in such areas as human resources, accounting, procurement, customer service, IT and billing. In addition, there will be other consulting services involved.