CSIRO hands CDC new data centre deal

The CSIRO has chosen Canberra Data Centres to house its corporate applications and high performance computing clusters under a new three-year data centre deal. 

The peak science and research organisation went hunting for a new data centre provider to house its IT infrastructure last June. The CSIRO's IT division provides services and support to the agency's 5500 staff and 3300-odd affiliates nationwide.

CDC previously provided floor space for the agency’s IT environment under a $27.3 million contract that expired last December. The three-year deal was originally valued at $8.8 milllion.

The technical floor space supports the CSIRO's enterprise ICT enterprise equipment and services, including corporate applications, large-scale scientific computing clusters, research data storage, and the CSIRO's new $4 million Dell-built Bracewell supercomputer.

This month the agency handed CDC a new $16 million contract to house its IT infrastructure for at least the next three years.

A spokesperson for the agency told iTnews the floor space would remain the same as under the previous deal. 

The CDC data centre is just one of several facilities the CSIRO leverages across Australia, which are either owned by the agency or externally managed.

The CSIRO's chief information officer Brendon Dalton said the agency was investing in infrastructure so it could "develop insights and solutions to tackle the biggest challenges Australia is facing".