IBM Australia lands fresh $725m whole-of-gov deal

IBM Australia is the recipient of a fresh five-year, $725 million whole-of-government arrangement.

The vendor and the government, through the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA), began renegotiating the terms of the whole-of-government arrangement mid last year.

It originally held a five-year deal estimated to be worth $1 billion, but which iTnews revealed actually took in over twice that amount.

In a statement, DTA said the renegotiated whole-of-government arrangement offers “greater flexibility for agencies to transfer assets and enable reuse opportunities across government”.

The new arrangement also “streamlines contracting”, the DTA said.

“This arrangement is the right fit for the current context and requirements for its participating agencies,” DTA CEO Chris Fechner said.

“Through the Commonwealth negotiating as one entity, the contract will continue to give government agencies better value for money and more flexibility when sourcing commonly-used IBM products and services with a focus on essential government requirements.” 

The arrangement was negotiated and signed jointly by the DTA, Australian Taxation Office, Department of Defence, Department of Home Affairs and Services Australia.

It will also cover access to more emerging technology areas that IBM is touting, including in the areas of quantum computing and AI.

IBM Australia highlighted the “emerging technology” aspects of the arrangement in a statement.

But the arrangement will largely be used to source IBM “hardware, software, cloud services and professional services.”