KAZ bags ElectraNet managed services deal

KAZ Group's technology services division has won a three year managed services contract with South Australian electricity provider ElectraNet.

Under the contract, which begins this month, KAZ would manage the company's entire IT infrastructure, mainly onsite.

These functions include help desk, email management, application development, LAN desktop and technical workstation, maintenance and database administration, Microsoft server platform management, support communications and firewall services.

There were three incumbent suppliers at ElectraNet which KAZ Technology Services MD Andrew Richardson declined to name.

The managed services business has proven a good earner for KAZ's Technology Services division, currently running at around $100 million or one-third of the division's sales revenue.

Richardson said KAZ was seeing a "strong pipeline" of opportunities in the managed services market ahead of the government and commercial markets. A number of these contracts were under "selective sourcing" arrangements, he said.

The deal follows similar managed services arrangements won by KAZ earlier this year. In January, the company outbid incumbent Atos Origin on a five-year $10 million deal to deliver managed services to Melbourne chemicals firm Orica.

Richardson claimed the ElectraNet contract reaffirmed KAZ's commitment to the South Australian market. He said South Australian companies wanted a regional focus and KAZ services were an "attractive proposition" for companies that have headquarters outside of Sydney.

KAZ has just under 200 staff on the ground in South Australia, he said. ElectraNet operates the high voltage electricity transmission network throughout South Australia.

Its network includes around 6000 circuit kilometres of transmission lines spread across 200,000 square kilometres in the state.