Finance leases second data centre

One more agency signs up with facilities panel.

The Federal Department of Finance and Deregulation has picked up a second ten-year contract for data centre space under the Government's facilities panel, in a deal worth $8.6 million.

Under the new deal, iiNet subsidiary TransACT will lease space to the Government's central procurement agency AGIMO and an AGIMO-organised consortium of smaller agencies.

iiNet has upgraded the TransACT data centre to 4.5 megavolt amperes (MVA) to increase mains redundancy to the facility in support of the deal.

The deal is substantially smaller than Finance's $45.6 million, ten-year contract with Canberra Data Centres (CDC) in April, the first such contract awarded since the panel's inception last year.

Smaller government agency ComSuper also signed a ten-year lease with CDC, separate from Finance's April deal, for an undisclosed sum under the panel requirements.

The exact requirements of both contracts are unclear — neither department has distributed contract notices — but panel requirements mean the department must lease at least 500 square metres of space or 500 kilowatts of power over a ten-year period.

Although a total 13 facilities are currently listed as being approved for use under the panel, only two — TransAct and CDC — had operational facilities deemed 'ready now' for use by government departments under these arrangements.

Mundi Tomlinson, assistant secretary of the strategic sourcing branch for the Government's central procurement agency AGIMO, said other agencies would look to sign contracts in the coming months.

A spokeswoman for AGIMO said future 'ready-now' facilities would also be added to the roster in future.

"The timing and location of these leases will depend largely on the timing and the source of demand for this space," she said.

"For example, an agency already occupying a particular facility is unlikely to lease additional space at this facility if its requirement is to meet business continuity or disaster recovery needs.

"Finance is continually reviewing demand and is in contact with panellists in order to match demand with supply."