Reserve Bank seeks IBM, VMware contractors

To issue maintenance and support tenders.

The Reserve Bank of Australia will next week select preferred outsourcers to maintain and support its IBM and VMware equipment.

In separate requests for tender issued last November, the RBA called for service providers to maintain its VMware licenses and mainframe-related IBM equipment in Sydney.

The RBA planned to engage a VMware Certified Enterprise Partner for two years and an IBM Certified Business Partner for three years.

Applications were invited until late this week, and both contracts were expected to commence on 1 March.

The successful IBM business partner would be required to manage zSeries processors, 3494-type tape libraries with 3590-type cartridges, RS/6000 and Power 5/6/7 servers.

It would serve both the RBA's CBD head office and its business resumption site in Bella Vista, and as such was required to be Sydney-based, with spare parts stored locally.

According to tender documents, the service provider would also need to provide 24/7 on-site hardware support, including the replacement of any faulty or failed hardware, and pro-active firmware upgrades.

Meanwhile, tender documents called for a skilled VMware contractor to perform upgrades in conjunction with the RBA's IT staff, fix known bugs, and resolve operational issues.

The VMware partner was to act as a direct liason to the VMware technical support centre, while tracking and managing 296 existing VMware licenses at the bank's national and international sites.

The partner was required to have expertise in infrastructure and desktop virtualisation and business continuity, and have direct representation in Sydney.

The call for applications from IBM outsourcers closed on Thursday. Applications for the VMware tender would be accepted until Friday.